Hawleyville Post Office

Overhaul On Hold

By Nancy K. Crevier

The ongoing saga of Hawleyville Post Office seems to have come to a dead-end. Previous communications to The Newtown Bee from the United States Postal Service had indicated that not only was the USPS dedicated to continuing to serve the Hawleyville and surrounding communities, but that a resolution to space, worker and customer safety, and building renovations was imminent.

The only “renovations” that have come to fruition, though, is the recent addition of a window air conditioner, improvements to the loading dock, a cleanup of the space adjacent to the post office, and a new heating unit and foot pads for workers. Rickety stairs and inadequate handicap accessibility, overcrowded conditions, and an exterior that hurts the eye remain unresolved problems.

For more than two years, local residents have been kept on a bungee cord of emotion as the tiny post office’s fate has been bounced back and forth between landlord, Housatonic Railroad, a mysterious developer, and the USPS. The postal service does not deny that the Hawleyville Post Office is in dire need of major repairs, renovation, or replacement. Various scenarios have been presented and rumored in the two years since resident Maureen Colbert-Wilhelm and a group of neighbors first presented a plan to spruce up the exterior of the sagging and decrepit building, an effort that was thwarted by the owners of the property, the Housatonic Railroad.

Spokespeople for the USPS have periodically suggested that a new structure would be raised on the site; that the Hawleyville Post Office could be relocated to the lower level of the nearby Hawleyville Fire Department or temporary trailers; or that the office would be moving to a new, nearby location in an as-yet-to-be-built plaza. Rumors that the popular, neighborhood post office would be permanently closed have also surfaced with regularity, although the USPS has consistently denied that possibility.

Liz Stocker, community development director for Newtown, said this week that in a conversation with USPS spokesperson Jim Hickey this past October, he indicated that the Housatonic Railroad was planning to sell the land on which the post office sits to a developer from New York, who would develop the site. “Since then, we have never gotten any kind of a proposal from anyone for a new project,” Ms Stocker said. She was aware of rumors that the Hawleyville Post Office would relocate, but said that with only the site at the corner of Barnabas Road and Old Hawleyville Road approved by Planning and Zoning, she was unsure where that could be. “We have no confirmation of the post office going into that proposed plaza at this time,” Ms Stocker said.

Word from USPS spokesperson Maureen Marion this week indicated that all previous possibilities for renovation, a move, or a new on-site building had been set aside. “The USPS is soliciting for offers for a facility in the community at this time,” said Ms Marion. “The offer is open until January 1. Two offers have come in and we are expecting more,” she said.

When asked if this would mean that the post office’s future could include either moving to an existing facility, the erection of a new building on the present site, or the lease of a new space to house the post office, Ms Marion simply reiterated that the USPS was soliciting offers and was open to any and all possibilities.

“A public site review meeting will be held after the first of the year when all offers are in,” said Ms Marion.

Presently, she said, no further renovations are expected at the Hawleyville Post Office.