The post office in downtown Romeo will be moving after the United States Postal Service deemed the building inappropriate to fill the operational needs of the community. Source photo by Matt December

The USPS is currently asking area residents to help it find a new location for the post office. Jim Kolva, a consultant with the USPS, gave a presentation at the Romeo Village Board of Trustees meeting March 14. Kolva said the USPS has decided to relocate the office after examining several alternatives.

“The reason that we are undertaking this process is the existing post office, which is turning 50 years old this year, is basically too small,” said Kolva. “The building is about 3,200 square feet on a site that is about 9,500 square feet plus another 2,800 square feet that is leased for parking.”

Kolva said the USPS will look to residents for help in finding a new location to replace the current one.

“It’s about 60 percent of the size requirement to accommodate the existing operations, and also the fact that it is sometimes hard to find parking spots and to get around there,” he said.

Kolva said a committee with the USPS examined the facility, and discussed operational and safety factors. They discussed several alternatives to improve the operations at the facility.

Kolva said most of the alternatives would not work.

“The work room is too small in terms of rearranging equipment to make it work; there is just not enough room to do that,” he said.

He said one alternative was to do nothing, which was rejected.

He said the committee also talked about expanding the site, adding a modular unit or adding a pre-fabricated unit.

These ideas were all rejected according to Kolva, who added that the building is leased by the USPS and it is nearing the end of the lease.

Kolva said another alternative would be to expand the dock, but there wasn’t enough space to do that.

“After looking at the alternatives and then looking at the delivery area, postal customers and providing that service, it was determined that a size of approximately 5,000 square feet for the new building is what we would be advertising for on a site of roughly 36,890 square feet.”

Kolva said the USPS will provide packages instructing residents on how to submit a site for the new post office. Those packages will be available at the current post office.

“Our objective is to get property that will meet the postal service’s needs, specifically from an operational standpoint, to make sure that customers have a lobby that works, sufficient boxes, they can get in and out, they can park, the postal employees can operate within the facility safely,” Kolva said.

Kolva said the USPS will look for a 15-year base lease on property where a new building can be built or a 15-year base lease on an existing building that can be adapted for postal service use.

Kolva said the informational packages will be available at the post office in the next 30 or 40 days.

“If you have a property or someone who might, call me or contact the post office,” he said. “There will be a cutoff date to submit sites. Up until we actually make a site selection, we are open for looking at sites.”

For more information or to submit information about a possible site, call Kolva at 509-458-5517.