Bringing some much-needed levity to a challenging season, post office clerk Brian Holloway donned a costume during the first few days of the “Parking Lot Post Office” plan. The building is undergoing asbestos abatement that’s expected to last until the end of September. Extended hours and answers to frequently asked questions are below. Niki Turner Photo
MEEKER | Post Office staff have been working long hours outside in the parking lot during the asbestos abatement project in the building which is expected to last through the end of September. Postal clerk Brian Holloway donned a costume last week to lift everyone’s mood as the “Parking Lot Post Office” works to maintain consistent local mail service during the abatement and renovation.
The project has generated several repeat questions from patrons, and some requests for patrons from Post Office personnel to smooth the process.
From postal staff:
• Know your box number! (Or the box number you’re picking up mail for.) Mail is sorted by number, not by name.
• If you are picking up for more than one box, give staff a written list of box numbers to speed the process. “We must search multiple locations to collect all the mail and packages, and our brains do not retain multiple numbers at a time,” said Postmaster Beth Fox.
• Don’t pick up mail every day unless you are sure there is a package to go with it. If you have packages, get them as soon as possible. “We just don’t have room to hold onto them,” Fox said.
• Know whether your package is for a street address or a box number and indicate which one (you may need to check your order to see which address you used).
• Please do NOT park in the alley and please do NOT leave your vehicle running. The exhaust fumes from running cars make things more difficult for employees.
Answers to frequently asked questions:
• The asbestos flooring in the building had been damaged through normal wear-and-tear, resulting in “friable” asbestos, a known carcinogen. Undisturbed or undamaged asbestos can be left alone or covered over, but once it’s been disturbed it has to be removed. The abatement of the 60-year-old asbestos flooring is necessary for the health and safety of the community and the post office employees.
• Multiple alternative locations were researched by Fox, but the powers-that-be told her to “stand down” because the post office can only have one lease agreement in place at a time. (The building is not owned by the U.S.P.S. A private owner leases the property to the U.S.P.S.) Negotiating a temporary lease would take months or possibly years and any new location would have to be “postal proofed” before it could be used.
• The alternative to Parking Lot Post Office was to operate out of the Craig Post Office. Having patrons come to the parking lot to collect their mail was deemed less disruptive than sending everyone to the Craig office for two months.
Parking Lot Post Office Hours:
• Monday through Friday: Collect mail from 7 a.m. to 5:30 or 6 p.m. (depending on weather conditions); retail transactions (buying stamps, etc.) are available from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Saturday: Collect mail from 7 a.m. to noon; retail transactions 10 a.m. to noon only.