MONTPELIER — Since the July floods shut down the city’s federal building, local residents have repeatedly expressed concerns about the lack of a fully functioning post office, and about the conditions faced by postal workers who are left to staff temporary locations that have no heat.
After several location changes, the office now operates out of a parking lot at 367 River St., nearly three miles from downtown. The road to the mobile unit is often filled with traffic, leaving many Monteplierites with more obstacles reaching their “post office,” which is actually two postal trucks that store mail for the 800 to 900 Montpelier post office box patrons. The mobile site doesn’t sell stamps and accepts only pre-paid mailings.
This week, Vermont’s Congressional delegation took up the fight to get Montpelier a full-fledged post office.
In a letter sent to U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy on Tuesday, U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. and Peter Welch, D-Vt., joined Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt. in demanding deadlines for the action.
“We write regarding the unacceptable response by your agency to serious worker safety concerns and service disruptions following the closure of the Montpelier Post Office, caused by the devastating summer flooding in Vermont,” the delegation wrote.
Noting that the mobile units have no source of power, heat or lighting, the delegation called the set-up “completely unacceptable.” Further, they said, they understood there were plans to shut down the mobile units by the end of this week, “with no stated plan to reopen services in Montpelier.”
“This abandonment of your employees and customers is completely unacceptable and must be rectified immediately,” the letter stated.
The delegation gave a deadline, calling on DeJoy to provide a firm timeline for reopening services in Montpelier that are safe, heated, electrified and indoors by Friday. The delegation also called for the new location to open no later than Nov. 13.
“People are already suffering from so many other unavoidable tragedies stemming from Vermont’s summer flooding. We urge you to take the necessary steps to restore Vermonters’ faith in your agency and the critical federal government services you provide,” the delegation wrote.
U.S. Postal Service spokesperson Stephen Doherty said via email Thursday that an active search for a location is ongoing. But contrary to what the delegation said in its letter to DeJoy, he said the temporary mobile post office location will remain in service for now.
Meanwhile, Montpelier residents have taken to Front Porch Forum to discuss problems with the location of the current temporary set-up, which is a 10-to-15 minute drive from downtown, often extended by construction traffic. And they write in support of the local postal workers who work at the site without heat and bathroom facilities.
One of the workers at the temporary site is Randy Boucher, who has worked as a postal clerk for 26 years. On Thursday, he sat in a chair in front of the two postal trucks, waiting for customers. The previous day, temperatures dropped and Vermont saw its first snowfall of the season.
Boucher said that the temporary site was supposed to close Friday, but plans to replace the trucks with temporary facilities that allow him to work inside remain vague.
For now, employees like Boucher rely on a donated propane heater.
“I’ll just wear warmer clothes,” Boucher said.
