To the Editor:

Thank you all for the support and questions we’ve received regarding the DVTA’s earmark loss last fall.

There is some confusion over what funding we have and what we have lost.

We did not lose any operations funding, so none of our routes have been cut back or eliminated.

We have an earmark for $584,400 that Sen. Leahy secured for us in February 2010. This will fund demolition of most of the factory and cleaning up the site this spring. There will be funds remaining after demolition for site work, architecturals, and more, as the DVTA board sees fit.

We lost a second federal earmark in December for $2.5 million that Sen. Leahy worked hard on for us. We are seeking additional resources for this amount through public and private sources. In particular, the Federal Transit Administration has discretionary funds for projects like ours that we will apply for.

The DVTA continues to apply for the few remaining permits we need to build the new facility. We have many major permits already in hand.

We have been without a real home for 15 years, but we will prevail and build the facility that we need to secure public transit services in this valley for years to come.

Thank you for all your questions and support.

Randy Schoonmaker

General manager

Dover