By Kevin Coughlin
The U.S. Postal Service is looking for new, smaller digs within three-quarters of a mile of its Morris Street post office, which it wants to sell.
“We are simply exploring the possibility of downsizing our footprint by putting the existing property at 1 Morris Street up for sale and relocating retail operations to a new location in the same vicinity,” said Postal Service spokesman George Flood.
As first reported on Morristown Green, the Postal Service plans a public meeting at Morristown town hall at 6 pm on Wednesday, Oct 26, 2016, to discuss its plans.
Mayor Tim Dougherty has expressed interest in making the century-old structure a “centerpiece” of the downtown.
He led a drive to save the Post Office, as a convenience for senior citizens, back in 2012. Postal Service plans to shutter thousands of post offices nationwide were averted at that time when the agency instead trimmed operating hours.
Once again, however, the Postal Service is citing economic pressures.
“The Postal Service is facing the most critical period in its history. Despite significant cost reductions,
the Postal Service continues to experience a net loss as mail volume continues to decline because
of increased electronic communication,” David Rouse, a real estate specialist for the Postal Service, said in a letter to the Mayor.
For fiscal year 2015, the Postal Service reported a net loss of $5.1 billion, and total volume declined by 1.3 billion pieces of mail.
“As a self-supporting government establishment that receives no tax dollars for its operating expenses, the Postal Service must rely on the sale of postage, products and services to generate revenue,” Rouse said.
“In the face of unsustainable deficits, the Postal Service must seek ways to cut costs, increase revenue and use its physical facilities as efficiently as possible. If the Postal Service decides to move forward with this relocation, it anticipates offering the Post Office property for sale,” Rouse said.
If the “relocation project” proceeds, “retail services” would continue at the present location, catty-corner from the historic Morristown Green, while operations transition to a new location.
Rouse said the Postal Service envisions an as “yet to-be-determined location as close as reasonably possible to the existing location,” within a half-mile to three-quarters of a mile.
A 30-day comment and appeal period will follow the public discussion. If the Postal Service proposes new sites after that period, the hearing process would be repeated, Rouse said.
Some Morristown Green readers are anxious about the prospect of losing the Morris Street facility.
“Please do not close this post office. It is vital for seniors and people that do not drive,” said a reader named Valerie, asserting that the Ridgedale Avenue post office is inaccessible to many people.
“We need a post office in town for our so-called Transit Village and walkable community. The building should be preserved but I don’t agree with moving Town Hall to this location,” wrote Lucille Knapik, referring to speculation that town hall might be relocated there.
The Mayor so far has declined to elaborate on his vision for the massive structure.
A city without historic buildings is like a family with no parents or grandparents; the children aren’t doomed, but there is a lot there to overcome. With a lack of imagination and an outright disregard of our heritage the obvious result should be outrage. What we do with that outrage becomes the more difficult question. If we want to save our historic buildings, we need to make doing so a lot easier. Incremental maturing is the natural, healthy state for a strong community. This means that we won’t put historic buildings under glass – preserving them as museum pieces – but instead acknowledge that they need to adapt, evolve and grow along with us. If we do that, we’ll have far more effective means to honor our ancestors and create a multi-generational legacy for those that will inherit our world.
Morristown is losing it’s Historical appeal: Selling off huge acreage to apartment developers; Fort Nonsense vicinity to pharmaceutical interest; Constructing and dedicating that 1970’s graven image of modern architecture as HQ; Converting the stately Vail Mansion into condos and a restaurant while the Arts Center resides the Carriage House.
Can we organize a field trip for our city planners to Princeton?
Why not convert the existing Historical Post Office to a multipurpose facility which accommodates its existing service.
Move it anywhere that has easy parking…
How about the vacant space off Poineer Plaza at street level in River Danzig part of Headqarter Plaza. Couple of blocks from the current site. has a loading dock in basement for truck deliveries.
Have they considered: 1. the current Railroad Station. 2. HQ Plaza 3. Town Hall 4. the Mt. Kemble rehab center site that the hospital is selling on both sides of the street 5.the old Motor Vehicles building on Ridgedale Ave. 6.The shopping center and adjacent site on Lafayette Ave. or 7. something in the County Court House complex? They must have been considering alternatives for the last few months, before and after their August letter.
They should move into Headquarters retail and a restaurant and apartments should be developed into the old post office
great idea…beautiful building that is totally under utilized today. Lots of available space nearby and the existing building can be repurposed.