BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor
Last month, Patrick Donahoe, Postmaster General for the U. S. Postal Service, announced possible closures of more than 3,700 post offices in the country. Among those on the list for study was the Produce Station at 2810 E. Hillsborough Avenue.
It is the only post office in Hillsborough County on the list. There are 15 others in Florida that will undergo a feasibility study.
On Monday, U. S. Congresswoman Kathy Castor hosted a strategy meeting at the Cyrus Greene Community Complex to discuss ways to save the Produce Station. It is the only post office in the East Tampa community.
Postal Union Representative Alan Peacock made one of the most significant points during the meeting. The post office is currently under a mandate to pay $55 billion over the next 10 years in prepaid employee benefits. “That mandate has not been put on any other organization, government or private, in the country. If we can reverse this, that would put more money into the post office,” Peacock said.
He further stated that there is currently Bill 1351 to reverse that mandate. Bill 1351 currently has 181 supporters.
Senator Joyner said, “That sounds like it was premeditated for the death of the post office, then privatize it. What bothers me is that you’re the only ones,” she said.
The elected officials in attendance, Rep. Betty Reed, Councilman Frank Reddick, Senator Joyner and Congresswoman Castor agreed to address the issue and rally support for Bill 1351 among their elected peers. County Commissioner Les Miller, Jr., was unable to attend due to a conflict in scheduling.[private]
Another topic of discussion was the number of businesses in the immediate area, as well as new businesses moving into the area. Ed Johnson, Manager of East Tampa Redevelopment and Santiago Corrada, Chief of Staff for the City of Tampa said they would work with the officials to contact the businesses and request that they further utilize the services offered by the Produce Station.
Congresswoman Castor said that post office currently has 2,064 boxes with 1,666 being rented at $23 for 6 months. She encouraged other businesses to take advantage of the rentals. She also pointed out that 35 employees would lose their jobs or be relocated to another post office if the location is closed.
“We learned today that we are going to rally to keep the post office open. We must be proactive and encourage the community to continue to use it to keep it open.”
Councilman Reddick stated that he has three boxes at the post office. He visits it five days a week and it is always crowded.
Rev. Thomas Scott stated that he uses the post office and that it’s always crowded. He also pointed out that it is in walking distance for many people and that many senior citizens take advantage of its location, especially at the first of the month.
Mrs. Joan Dawson, who has started a petition drive to keep the location open said she feels it serves the people of the community and should remain open.
Ms. Yvette Lewis, of the NAACP said there is always a line in the post office when she goes to take care of her business.
Ms. Sonja Bexley said there are not enough people working at the window to take care of the customers.
Ms. Enola Rice and Paul Bernicchi, U. S. Post Office employees said that no action would be taken until the completion of the study. They also said that if a decision is made to close that location, the members of the community would have an opportunity to voice their concerns at a public meeting.
Rev. Thomas Scott pointed out that several years ago, the Postal Service had planned to close the MacDill Post Office. However, proactive community support prevented that closure from happening.
Also attending were: Rev. Charles McKenzie, Willie Felton, co-owner of the Midtown businessman, (the Midtown Post Office in St. Petersburg is also slated to close), Ms. Rebecca McGowin, Evan St. Ives, Jerry Balloon, Ms. Andrea White, Sol Davis, Sr., Ron Bradford, Ms. Lalita Lovett, Cedric McCray, Irving Ward, Ms. Ethel Ward, Don Lee, Ms. Mary A. Green, Aaron Smith, Herman Monroe, Ms. Mary Darby, and Ms. Debbie Shannon. [/private]
