Politics & Government

USPS: Foss Creek Circle annex to be permanent main post office for Healdsburg

Annex will replace downtown post office that burned to the ground Aug. 14; USPS decision has 15-day appeal period.

After months of debate and public comment, top brass at the United States Post Office declined to offer Healdsburg a downtown

Instead, USPS said, in a press release dated March 1, that the former carrier annex at , will become the permanent main post office for Healdsburg.

"It's clearly disappointing -- although it's not surprising," Healdsburg Mayor Tom Chambers said Tuesday. "It's unfortunate that they didn't listen to what the citizens of Healdsburg clearly wanted."

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Diana Alvarado, USPS vice president for facilities, said in the release that Healdsburg has 15 days to appeal the decision.

Although Alvarado's release offered no explanation  on the rationale for the decision, she and USPS spokesman James Wigdel, at a were clear that they had no budget for rebuilding or leasing a downtown post office -- other than mini-contract postal centers such as exist at various supermarkets or department stores around the country.

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At the January meeting, Wigdel and Alvarado told City Council and the public that postal system revenues were down nationwide and that the cost of creating and maintaining a new facility was prohibitive.

"Every place you turn today, it's about money," Chambers said. "It's understandable, but unfortunate."

City residents told Wigdel and Alvarado that the that its traffic patterns were hazardous and that it did not have the small-town, meeting-place ambiance of the much beloved aging Center Street facility.

Wigdel and Alvarado, however, contended that the majority of Healdsburg residents and business owners who responded to a survey last fall on the issue were not that concerned about the change in location. and more post office boxes that the Center Street facility.

Wigdel said Tuesday that USPS facilities staff met Feb. 1 with Healdsburg city planning and engineering staff address the traffic patterns and other concerns raised by the public about the annex.

"They had a meeting to identify the problems," Wigdel said. "They are working together to come up with solutions."

Appeals may be sent to Vice President, Facilities, Attn: Diana Alvarado, Facilities Planning and Requirements, 395 Oyster Point Blvd., Ste. 225, South San Francisco, CA 094080-0300. Deadline for appeals is March 16.


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