The Douglas Post Office has a new lease on life, as the U.S. Postal Service Tuesday announced it would delay any closure decisions for at least five months.
“That’s wonderful,” said Rep. Beth Kerttula, D-Juneau, a Douglas resident.
The Postal Service, facing huge deficits, has been looking for ways to save money, and targeted dozens small or duplicative Alaska Post Offices in that effort. After objections from the state’s senators and others, the Postal Service earlier had removed the closure list the many small offices that are not on the road system.
Left hanging, however, was the Douglas Post Office and four others in Anchorage and Fairbanks, mostly on military bases.
Now, the Postal Service has announced that any closure decision would be delayed until May 15. That will give Congress time to address the independent agency’s budget, Postal Service spokesmen said.
Alaska’s senators welcomed the announced delay.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, called the action “thoughtful,” and said she hopes and final decision would consider “up-to-date and accurate information and an awareness that Alaska’s geography is different from the Lower 48’s.”
It is also good to give Congress more time for Congress and the agency to figure out ways for the Postal Service to remain solvent, she said.
“I hope this delay allows Congress to negotiate and pass a comprehensive, long-term solution to the Postal Service’s financial stability,” Murkowski said.
Sen. Mark Begich said that during the five-month moratorium on closures, the USPS would continue to study the impact of proposed closures on service and costs, and solicit community input.
Kerttula said that was good news for Douglas.
The Douglas Post Office “is part of the community here, it’s a big part, and we’ve heard some amazing, positive things about it in the discussion already,” she said.
She said she expects any additional review will show the value of the local post office, and a lack of much savings if it were to close.
The delayed decision on closure will help the community make that case, she said.
“It would have been nice to have a final decision, but at least its not bad news,” she said.
• Contact reporter Pat Forgey at 523-2250 or patrick.forgey@juneauempire.com.
Comments (19)
Add commenti know its nice for the
i know its nice for the people in douglas to have their own post office, but maybe if they were step back and look it might be time for the douglas post office to close. There is still a post office in the federal building which is not all that far away
"That's wonderful"
There is no money--they're broke!!
Standards
Does the USPS have a standard for where they site PO's? Distance between PO's. Size of population served. Etc. If so, then the Douglas PO should be weighed based on that standard. Their geography is not really so unique.
Douglas PO
If it were the Postal Service's mission to be a "part of the community", then the Douglas PO wouldn't have a thing to worry about. Unfortunately, the Postal Service is a business and needs to be run as such. Unless, for the sake of discussion, you want to pay 85 cents for a stamp, $400 for a PO box per year, etc. Such would be the price of being part of the community.
Close AB and Douglas
When I moved here, I couldn't believe there were four post offices in this town. It's really not hard for Auke Bay postal users to get to the Mendenhall branch, nor is it hard for the Douglas users to get the Federal Building branch. We are dealing with cut backs here and something has to go. It might mean a slightly longer drive but we all need to adapt when there are financial cutbacks.
Douglas Post Office
We used it just yesterday and the service was great as well as the ease of parking and we dont live in Douglas. They typically have 2 people manning the counter which is alot of times more than the Fed Building post office does. I guess Im not understanding why Douglas Post Office is being singled out as the one to be closed and not the Auke Bay post office instead. Which one gets more business and if we are asking why people in Douglas cant use the Fed Building post office, shouldnt we also be asking why the people that use the Auke Bay post office cant use the Valley Post Office instead? I wish I knew the true answer as to why the US Postal Service has to advance pay 10 years worth of retirement and why the Feds are able to take that money to fund other things.
it seems to me that the post
it seems to me that the post office could move the employees from the douglas post office to the federal building post office which would increase the amount of people able to work the counter there, speeding up the process.
They could do the same thing with the Auke Bay post office, roll those people in to the valley one. They could then close both facilities which would save the post office the cost of running two facilities.
what a joke
All the politicians are glad they've got six more months to do what? They're all freaking jokes (both sides of the isles)& need to be fired!
The Federal Building parking
The Federal Building parking situation is a fiasco as it is right now, add a couple hundred more people trying to get their mail into the mix and it's just not worth it. If they shut down the Douglas post office, we'll get a mailbox installed at our house, and I know we're not the only ones that will do this. Maybe Dean and Levi can drive the new trucks they'll have to deploy to deliver the mail directly to us.
and
Nero played his fiddle while Rome burned
@johnnyb
I dont think the employees were ever going to be laid off, they were going to be transferred and positions not filled through attrition.
I think overall what concerns me is when USPS says they are trying to "save" money, what does that mean to Juneau, a community that is heavily reliant on the Postal Service. They have talked about closing Douglas post office, as well as reducing the number of days for mail delivery and so on. Is there really a savings to people in Juneau in the long run if they do that or will it, in fact, end up costing us all more in the long run? Will companies move over to using FedEx or UPS to make up for the days USPS is cutting in mail delivery? If so, what is that added cost to individuals having to pay higher rates for UPS or FedEx? So technically we all pay in the long run for these 'savings'. It could mean higher grocery prices, increased mailing costs, in general higher costs for local businesses which is then in turn passed on to consumers.
Parking is the #1 issue.....
at the Federal Building Post office. There simply is NO place to park there. I agree that having Levi and Dean absorbed into their staff would make things go MUCH faster, (honestly, during this time of year - I've timed it - it is actually faster to drive from downtown to Douglas and mail packages there, than it is to go 4 blocks to the Federal Building and stand in line while ONE person - the rest hide in the back and never come out - casually, sort of, waits on people.) but the fact remains that parking at the Federal building is dismal for a post office of any kind.
Not only is parking lame at
Not only is parking lame at the Federal Building, I just had to go there today to sort out a package I was waiting for since I couldn't get a hold of a human being to speak with. First I tried calling but there is only an answering machine and I've never received a call back after leaving messages.
Unfortunately I realize that parking and wait times are petty issues. I would rather keep my PO box in Douglas and I avoid going to the Federal Building as much as possible. Will probably get a box on route as well if I have to.
doing what they do best
kick the can down the road.
Personally, I think the post
Personally, I think the post office ought to be pulled out of the federal building and put somewhere with better parking. When the federal building was built in the early 60s things were a little different. The way things are today is that it's easier to drive to Douglas and take care of business at the PO there for the simple reason that one can find a place to park within a reasonable distance--something not always possible at the federal building.
Besides, having a BS session with Levi is always fun.
Maybe the workers?
I often drive from the valley to Douglas just because the workers there are fast, friendly, knowledgeable, and efficient. Hopefully those guys stay. What's the real expenditure? The facility or the employees? If its the facility, put the Douglas guys in the Fed Bldg.
We just need one post office in Juneau
Shut them all down but one. Everywhere else in the US you have to drive for miles to get to a post office. Much of the USPS biz is going away with Stamps.com and mailing on USPS from home or at a kiosk. Put a kiosk in the federal building and in the mall somewhere and shut the rest down. If a private contract substation like the one downtown can survive then that could be a solution for Douglas.
And dont get me started on libraries..... buy everyone a Kindle and we will still save money!
One PO
CaptNoah...I'm with you. I grew up in a rural area that was served once a week - and personally, I only go to the PO a few times of the year. By ordering online and buying stamps at Costco, many people don't need POs anymore.
PO Box
@oneofwe, do you have to pay for a PO box? I thought pretty much anyone could choose to set up a mailbox at their house. It seems to me those that have a box at the post office are paying for security. Someone here said it costs $400.00 a year, if that number is accurate you are paying about $1.00 a day. We've had mail stolen from our box, we've had the box hit by flying snow as the plow goes by and mail all over the roadway, not to mention have replaced several boxes (3 due to kids with baseball bats) as well as posts. If you want to join the mailbox crowd, go for it.