No decision has been made as to the future of the Guilderland Center post office, said Margaret Pepe, manager of marketing and customer relations for the Postal Service in the Albany postal district, but that was little consolation to residents who attended a discussion on the proposal at Helderberg Reform Church Wednesday evening.
I think this would be an extreme inconvenience, said Rosemary Thomas, a 50-year resident of Guilderland Center who fears she may have to drive 10 miles round trip if her PO Box is moved to the Altamont post office, as would be the case for all Guilderland Center residents if their post office is closed.
Residents were told that in the event the Guilderland Center post office closed and they didn’t want to move service to the Altamont post office, they could change their service to any of the handful of post offices in the surrounding area – providing they change their address.
This didn’t sit well with resident Sylvia Czuchrey.
`For what you’re going to have to do change post offices, it just doesn’t make any sense,` she said.
Probably the most outspoken critic of a possible closure is a man with an intimate knowledge of the Guilderland Center post office: its former postmaster, John DeSorbo.
`That post office is a viable, profitable post office,` he said at the meeting, noting he was given bonuses because of that fact. He also questioned the abilityu of the Altamont office to handle the increased volume, which includes the Guilderland Industrial Park on Route 146.
`That industrial park is, in itself, a small city,` he said. `It would cost more to deliver in there than it would be to keep the post office open.`
DeSorbo retired as postmaster in 2009 and no replacement has been made since. This is precisely the reason that Guilderland Center is being looked at as a possible closure, said Pepe.
According to Pepe, officials are seeking, and encourage, more of the public’s input on the possible closing. That public input, she said, is just as important as other factors the post office considers when a local office is on the block.
`We’ve had community meetings where the community comes forward and the post office hasn’t closed,` she said, but added the opposite has also happened. Pepe also said that if it’s decided the Guilderland Center post office will close, residents will have 30 days from the date of the decision to appeal.
Anyone wishing to register an opinion on the proposed closure can call Pepe’s office at 464-7475.
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