What Changes Will USPS Deliver To The Hawleyville PO?

By Nancy K. Crevier

What started out as a gesture of goodwill and a desire to improve a local landmark by resident Maureen Colbert-Wilhelm has turned into a one-woman crusade to make sure that the Hawleyville Post Office remains a viable entity in Hawleyville.

“I wanted to organize a community ‘fix up the post office day’ late last spring, but the postmaster said we couldn’t, that the building was owned by the Housatonic Railroad. That post office is such an eyesore, I just wanted to do something,” said Ms Colbert-Wilhelm. “We have only lived here for two years, but I love Newtown. [The post office] is in a historic area and it’s an abomination.”

In seeking approval for her modest plans, Ms Colbert-Wilhelm contacted The Housatonic Railroad and the US Postal Service. She was not granted permission to go forward with her helping hand and what she discovered disturbed her.

“The bottom line is that three scenarios presently exist,” said Ms Colbert-Wilhelm, according to conversations she has had with various officials from the United States Postal Service and the Housatonic Railroad, as well as the postmaster in Hawleyville. The one that worries her most “is to close the office. It’s sort of a two-edged sword,” she said. “To bring it to the attention of the post office at the national level runs a risk of the office being closed. I’m afraid it’s just one of thousands of post offices in the country to the postal service. They don’t have that personal connection.” To lose the local post office, “truly a part of Hawleyville,” would be detrimental to the area, Ms Colbert-Wilhelm believes.

The post office in Hawleyville is an old-fashioned, friendly place, used by people from all around the region, Ms Colbert-Wilhelm said. Mark Favale, the Hawleyville postmaster since 2001, confirmed Ms Colbert-Wilhelm’s assertion.

“We get customers from Newtown, from Brookfield, Danbury, Bethel, all around us,” he said. People travel from other parts of town for the personal service Mr Favale and his sales associates, Laura Smolen and Rich Ruscitto, offer them, he believes. “We do the little things that don’t happen anymore in big operations,” he said. “We try to get as many of the new stamps as we can and have them on hand. We still help people get what they need. If an older person comes in with a package that isn’t taped up right, we’ll help them out. It’s little things like that.”

The Hawleyville Post Office also has the traffic from Interstate 84 passing through nearby, and the staff sees a number of customers off the highway, said Mr Favale. The Hawleyville Post Office is “very profitable” according to the postmaster, one reason that he would hope the postal service is not looking to actually close the location. “We are a level 13 office,” Mr Favale said, “which means we don’t have carriers out of this office. We are the busiest level 13 in the state. Last year we grossed $737,000.”

He was touched when Ms Colbert-Wilhelm offered to spruce up the rundown building. “It is a great idea, a wonderful idea, but we did have insurance issues. What if someone fell off a ladder or something. You don’t like to have to think like that, but what if someone got hurt and decided to sue?” Another concern was the lead problem. “This is a very old building,” Mr Favale said. “If there is a [lead] abatement issue, there are certain steps the US Postal Service has to follow. Unfortunately, it’s not a simple matter of doing a good deed.”

The office is at a point where, physically, it is in rough shape, he said, and something will have to be done to remedy the many problems. Space inside the rickety structure is at a premium. On busy days and throughout the busy holiday season, the entire back area and any other spare space is packed full of bags of mail and packages. “We have two bathrooms,” he explained, “but one of them is used for storage space. The electricity was last updated in the 70s and we do have a ramp [into the building], but it is not really up to code for handicapped access.”

In addition to structural problems in the decades-old building, the only heat generated within the office is from an electric heater suspended from the ceiling. In the summer, an air conditioner mounted into a window works overtime to cool the interior. “We don’t even have our own water source,” Mr Favale lamented, and added that it is through the kindness of the neighboring Hawleyville Deli that water is supplied to the building.

The small post office deals on a daily basis with parking problems. Heavy tractor-trailer traffic in and out of the driveway to the north of the building, generated by the lumber shipped in via rail and stored in the lumber yard in back of the station, prevents parking on that side; a small area in front of the post office offers space for only two or three cars to park. The south side and rear of the building, on land owned by the Hawleyville Deli, offers a few more parking spots, but not enough for the increasing number of customers using the Hawleyville location, said Mr Favale. “We have good neighbors,” he said. “The deli lets our customers park on their property whenever they don’t have delivery trucks coming in. They don’t have to do that.”

Preliminary Planning

Relief may be on the way for the beleaguered post office. In a phone interview March 13, Edward Rodriguez, vice president of Housatonic Railroad, said that his company is working with the US Postal Service preparing plans for a new structure to replace the dilapidated structure now housing the Hawleyville Post Office. “[That building] is not in very good condition,” he said, “and it can’t be rehabilitated to meet US Postal Service specifications. There are some structural issues that do not satisfy modern postal requirements.”

In addition to working with the US Postal Service, the Housatonic Railroad has also been in communication with local Newtown officials to see that the plans developed are acceptable to the community. “Plans are underway,” he said, “and we have spoken with architects. Hopefully, sooner rather than later, [the post office and the railroad] will be ready to move forward.”

Mr Rodriguez also noted that the US Postal Service has given preliminary approval to the expenditure for the Hawleyville Post Office location.

Mr Favale said that he is aware of the approval given at the district level, but that to his knowledge, approval for a new building in Hawleyville has not yet received national approval. “There has been a moratorium on building [by the Postal Service] since last August,” he said. “Right now, I guess the Gulf State post offices have priority.”

Ms Colbert-Wilhelm has written to representatives on the local, state, and national level, in hopes that raising awareness about the needs of the Hawleyville Post Office and the concerns of area citizens might generate some activity in one direction or another. “I contacted Dodd, Lieberman, Wasserman, Nancy Johnson, Herb Rosenthal, and any of the other politicians that I thought could help. What I heard from Jodi Rell was that she can’t get involved because it’s a federal issue. It’s good she know about it, though. Who knows who she will see and talk to?” She has received notice that the letter she sent to Nancy Johnson is in the hands of the Congressional Relations for reviewing and is hopeful that she will soon hear back from Ms Johnson’s office.

In response to an inquiry from The Newtown Bee, Ms Johnson’s office said, “Nancy’s office received a letter from Ms. Colbert-Wilhelm and we have discussed this with her. Nancy certainly shares their concerns about the post office, and she is working closely with the US Postal Service to get answers for her constituents.” Ms Colbert-Wilhelm has yet to hear from any of the other regional representatives.

In September 2005, Ms Colbert-Wilhelm, postmaster Mark Favale, and Kathleen Walker of the real estate division of the United States Postal Service attended a Legislative Council meeting. The council was informed that the postal service had assessed the situation in Hawleyville and felt that the opportunity to improve the post office existed.

Important To The Neighborhood

Newtown’s Community Development Director Elizabeth Stocker said that at the September meeting the board of selectmen was told that the postal service was working at that time with the Housatonic Railroad on options to improve the situation in Hawleyville. “[The United States Postal Service] indicated to the town that they do not want to close the Hawleyville Post Office,” Ms Stocker said.

Improving the Hawleyville section of town has long been on the board in Newtown. The town supports development of the area and has looked at redevelopment of the historic Hawleyville section of town, Ms Stocker said. In 1997, a final report of The Interstate 84 Exit 9 Hawleyville Transportation and Development Report was prepared. “The report looked at land use and transportation in that area. We also did studies on zoning and the maximum development potential [of the area],” said Ms Stocker.

“The town foresees the post office continuing its presence in Hawleyville and that is important to the neighborhood,” she went on to say. “We want to see something in keeping with the New England character of Hawleyville.” What Ms Stocker called “a brown wrapper” building plan for a new facility was offered by the postal service to the town at one point, with the understanding that the exterior plans were flexible, but that certain interior plans were required.

Two other options are being discussed as a result of Ms Colbert-Wilkin’s inquiries.

“The Hawleyville Volunteer Fire Department [located on property adjacent to the post office] has offered the use of extra land they have for a new structure, or the use of the lower level of the fire house for a new post office,” she said, and another piece of land nearby owned by The Hawleyville Deli could offer another option to the postal service, should it decide to relocate a new building.

Hawleyville Volunteer Fire Department President Cliff Beers said he has appointed an ad-hoc committee to address the possibility of aiding the post office either through use of land or space within the firehouse. A representative from the real estate division of the US Postal Service in New Haven met with members of the committee the week of March 6, he said, to assess the offers. He stressed that the talks are strictly in the early stages at this point. Whether the firehouse space would even meet US Postal Service specifications for a post office is questionable, he said.

The possibility of a temporary, doublewide trailer placed on property leased from either the Hawleyville Volunteer Fire Department or Hawleyville Deli has been raised, Mr Favale said. The trailer would house the post office until the building moratorium is lifted. “For the safety of this place and for the safety of the customers, that is one option,” he said.

Conflicting Information

Is the Hawleyville Post Office in imminent danger? The answers are somewhat conflicting. Town officials and officials of the Housatonic Railroad, in conjunction with The United States Postal Service, have discussed plans to build a new structure on or near the present site of the post office. However, postal service inspectors recently indicated to the postmaster that closure of the property is a possibility. At the same time, a representative of the real estate office of the postal service visited Hawleyville Fire Department members to assess the offer of land or space by the fire department and has spoken with the owner of The Hawleyville Deli about his offer.

Yet just this week, Ms Colbert-Wilhelm received correspondence from the United States Postal Service hinting that only two options are presently being pursued for the future of the Hawleyville Post Office: closure or the placement of a temporary trailer.

Attempts by The Bee to clarify the position of the postal service concerning its Hawleyville office were unsuccessful as of press time.

If the postal service chooses to close the Hawleyville Post Office, it would have a very big impact on business at Hawleyville Deli, said deli owner Gary Nimer. The Hawleyville Deli is located next to the post office. “Hundreds of people from all over use the [Hawleyville] post office,” he said. “It’s very convenient, and people that go to the post office stop at the deli. It brings in business.”

Referring to the post office, Mr Nimer added, “People love that place. That’s why I’m willing to do what I can.” What he has offered is the use of property owned by Hawleyville Deli to accommodate some sort of structure for the post office. The real estate representative from the US Postal Service has spoken with him, he said, and is aware of his offer. Whether they take him up on the offer, and whether the town would allow it, is yet to be seen, he said. “It would be a very bad thing to lose the post office from Hawleyville,” Mr Nimer said.

“The surrounding people and businesses want to keep [the post office] here,” said Mr Favale. “It’s good here. We work like a team and the people that come in here make it all worthwhile.”