City leaders see PO as economic factor downtown

Last week’s fire at the Healdsburg Post Office affected many
people in many ways. Some lost mail — everything from checks to
newsletters to party invitations. Others lost their common morning
or afternoon casual meeting place where they catch up on local
gossip or personal friendships. Still others lost their place of
work. They didn’t lose their jobs, but the building they report to
in the morning and the location of their lunch breaks certainly has
changed.
Because of many of these changes, some people in town are
fighting to help the post office rebuild or find a new downtown
location.
They are finding, however, that it may be an uphill battle.
“I understand from the post office’s perspective, it’s an
economic decision,” said Mayor Jim Wood. But, he said, it’s an
economic factor for the rest of the city as well.
“I can understand their economic challenges, but the foot
traffic you lose when a major destination drops out of the picture
is going to affect business downtown and that’s one of my biggest
concerns,” Wood said.
“I am cautiously optimistic that we can work out something,” he
said. “I just can’t imagine there not being a post office presence
downtown, it’s as simple as that.”
Wood said a series of behind the scenes meetings are being held
to try to find a way to entice the post office to stay
downtown.
The city is meeting with district representatives from the USPS
on Sept. 9.
The focus right now, Wood said, is getting the old building
demolished because of the health and safety risk it poses.
As of Wednesday morning, demolition of the building was
scheduled for Friday, according to the post office’s insurance
inspector.
The post office, for their part, is doing what they can to make
the transition easier and honoring what some in the community feel
they have lost.
One of the cherished artifacts of the Center Street Post Office
is the old-fashioned bronze PO Boxes, which San Francisco Postal
Service District Manager Rosemarie Fernandez learned after hearing
that many of the box holders had the same box for 40 years.
“I know our Healdsburg customers are devastated by the loss of
their Post Office,” Fernandez said in a statement. “There is not
much that remains but a memory, but for many the PO Box door serves
as a lasting link to that Post Office. Therefore, I have asked
Postmaster Joe Machado to salvage as many of the PO Boxes as
possible so that I can present them to the original box holders as
a keepsake. As soon as we can enter the building safely and salvage
the P0 Boxes, I will have the Postmaster notify each box holder
personally on how to get the keepsake.”
The Healdsburg City Council members will discuss their
involvement in the fate of the downtown post office at their next
meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 7. The meeting begins at 6 p.m. at
Healdsburg City Hall.