Save Our Post Office continues to Steam Forward

At Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, we received the news that we had all been dreading.  The United States Postal Service announced their intention to abandon the historic downtown post office and relocate and consolidate services on south Highway 3.

The 60-day period for public comment has begun.  The clock is literally ticking.  As “Downtown” Councilors Nakasian and Buckheit said, “Grab your pens, boys; they’re threatening our post office”.

We were informed by the USPS staff that the decision would not be made by Anthony Williams in the Northland District Office in Minneapolis but by someone in the Denver, CO office. They wouldn’t give us a name. We were told to direct all mail to:

Natalie Sorvari, Manager, Consumer Affairs, Northland District
US Postal Service
100 S. 1st St. RM 115
Minneapolis, MN 55401

For many of us present, it seemed that the public comment period might just be USPS staff going through the motions mandated by law.  Although we plan to continue to fulfill our part of the process, we are beginning to shift some of our resources toward the elected officials.  Concerned citizens are encouraged to write to our Congressmen and Senators at the following addresses:

Congressman John Kline
Minnesota Office
101 West Burnsville Parkway, Suite 201
Burnsville, MN 55337
Phone: (952) 808-1213

Congressman Tim Walz
Rochester Office
1130 1/2 7th St NW, Suite 208
Rochester, MN 55901
507-206-0643

Senator Amy Klobuchar
Southern Office
1134 7th Street NW
Rochester, MN 55901
Main Line: 507-288-5321

Senator Al Franken
Saint Paul Office
60 East Plato Blvd
Suite 220
Saint Paul, MN 55107
(651) 221-1016

At the conclusion of the meeting between citizens and the USPS, the City Council asked the public for recommendations for their roles in the next steps.  There seemed to be general agreement that the City Council should work to get the Congressmen and Senators to visit downtown Northfield and witness our historic post office in its true context.