“We’re here to announce that we’re not closing Still River Post Office.” These words of Michael Foley, Lincoln Postmaster and Post Office Review Coordinator, fell on the welcoming ears of 20 or so Still River residents who had gathered at the Historical Society meetinghouse on Thursday, March 14. After months of uncertainly, a new plan for ZIP Code 01467 seems close to being finalized.
If all goes as proposed, the window at the Still River Post Office will be open for retail operations for four hours a day during the week, from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Saturday hours will remain the same, from 8:00 a.m. to noon, and outside collection times are unchanged. In announcing his recommendations, Foley recounted the many financial difficulties the United States Postal Service is facing. Smaller post offices in particular don’t see the work load that they used to and “discontinuance,” he said, is a word heard frequently in discussions these days. However, Foley said, the postal service is sensitive to the feelings and needs of people in these small communities as it addresses its declining revenues.
A preference for reduced hours
To this end, Foley said, he had sent out 137 surveys to Still River box holders ahead of last week’s meeting. Of the 86 responses received, 67 chose “realignment of hours” as the preferred option. Looking at the operational needs of the postal service, Foley said, he had recommended the new window hours, which are subject to the approval of the postal service inspection department and the landlord of the post office building.
Although the weekly retail hours will be reduced, the hours that residents can access their P.O. boxes will increase. Foley has recommended that the back of the building be secured after retail hours and a lock system on a timer installed to allow access to the lobby of the building, where the boxes are located. Parcel lockers will be installed in the lobby so packages may be picked up whenever the building is open.
More lobby access time
Foley said that the hours of access could extend from as early as 6 a.m. to to as late as 8:00 p.m. and that box holders should let the postmaster know their preferences. The hours of access to lobby will also depend on the results of an evaluation by the postal service inspection department. Foley said the department will meet with the landlord and assess the risk of crime in the area to make a determination of the hours it feels it is safe to have the building on the timer system.
(Murmurs among the audience members at this point were no doubt about the “crime potential” of the village, perhaps wondering if break-ins at the Willard farm stand lock box and loose horses in the road would count.) When asked if the police would make routine checks of the post office, Foley replied that yes, they would.
Foley said that the postal service has seen an increase in the use of “village post offices,” where a post office is located in a store or government center and managed by the proprietor or a town official. Some in the audience bemoaned the dearth of such possibilities in the village of Still River, thinking how nice it would be to get their mail with a cup of coffee or an ice cream cone.
When asked about the possibility of home delivery (which received 11 votes on the survey), Foley responded that a request for the service takes a citizens’ petition to the postmaster. He explained that in towns where there is rural delivery and also a post office, customers must pay a fee if they choose to have a post office box. The only exception is a “free” box if someone lives in a location that would cause undue time or difficulty for the mail deliverer.
A ‘social hub’
The earliest the new hours could go into effect is April 20, but Foley says it will more likely be June or July by the time the renovations to the building are completed. Audience members expressed relief that the building is not closing. “The post office is the social hub of the village,” said one person, to which Foley smiled with understanding. “We love the post office,” and “We’re very loyal,” were other heartfelt remarks. As Foley thanked the residents for coming, they thanked him in return, expressing their gratitude that the post office will remain open and that they had been given the opportunity to state their preferences.
So, for now, it seems neither rain nor snow nor sleet nor the financial difficulties of the US Postal Service will stop the mail from getting through to Still River, 01467.
See related feature article on the history of the Still River Post Office.
