USPS Begins Community Outreach Process

By Nancy K. Crevier

Newtown First Selectman Joe Borst and United States Postal Service spokesperson Maureen Marion confirmed Wednesday, February 11, that an informational public hearing is scheduled for Monday, March 2, at 7 pm, in the Olga Knoepke Memorial Room in the C.H. Booth Library, as part of the ongoing Community Contact process required by the USPS in relation to the proposed new Hawleyville Post Office facility.

Bill Moncrief, USPS new space acquisition specialist, will be at the meeting to clarify the procedures that must be followed in order to expedite the building of a new post office in Hawleyville.

“This is strictly informational,” said Mr Borst, “so that everyone knows what the USPS is doing and the process.”

Mr Borst said that he presumes the half-hour venue that will precede the scheduled Board of Selectman meeting at 7:30 will allow ample time for any questions the public may have concerning the new post office that was promised last week.

“The Postal Service has to go through their procedures,” explained Mr Borst, “and that includes putting this project out to bid.” It is Mr Borst’s understanding, he said, that the property at 23 Barnabas Road is under consideration. On Wednesday, February 11, he spoke briefly with Mick Consalvos of Tower Realty, the broker for that property being developed by Newtown contractor Steve Nicolosi. “They have been talking to the Postal Service, and are going to reserve space for the USPS at one end,” Mr Borst said that he learned from that conversation.

Mr Consalvos said that he had received an email on February 11 indicating that the USPS had begun the process that will lead to the selection of a site for a new Hawleyville Post Office, and confirmed that Mr Nicolosi has been preparing a portion of the new building at 23 Barnabas per USPS requirements.

“We are still in touch with the USPS. I am providing the first selectman with some brochures and maps so that he can get a quick ‘snap shot’ of the Barnabas Road plans,” said Mr Consalvos. “We are, of course, hoping to hear something more from the USPS soon.”

Mr Borst indicated that Mr Moncrief had also suggested that the USPS was considering another property “a little further up Route 25, past the Obtuse Road intersection,” but added that the USPS representative sounded a little more positive about the Barnabas Road site.

Earlier in the day on Wednesday, Mr Borst spoke with Ann Marie Mitchell, he said, and told her that he welcomes the presence of Save Hawleyville Post Office supporters at the March 2 meeting, but reminded her that the meeting room would not accommodate a thousand followers. Ms Mitchell is the coordinator of that group, formed in mid-January to prevent the February 14 closure of the Hawleyville Post Office on Route 25.

While the facility is still scheduled to close on February 14, the grassroots group did procure the support of Congressman Chris Murphy, as well as First Selectman Joe Borst, and gathered more than 1,400 signatures on petitions placed at the Hawleyville Deli and M&G Cleaners on Route 25, and online. Congressman Murphy announced Wednesday, February 4, that he had received assurance from the USPS that funding for a new Hawleyville Post Office had been secured, and that the USPS had “approved a new facility, to be built under an expedited schedule, so that Hawleyville residents will continue to have their postal needs fully served.”

Ms Mitchell told The Bee on February 11 that she hopes to see a large number of Hawleyville Post Office supporters at the informational meeting, but that she is urging everyone to attend with a positive attitude. “We want to show that we appreciate that the USPS is willing to negotiate and that we are pleased this is moving forward, but we want them to know that we will continue to follow the progress very closely.”

The group plans to update the process of attaining a new Hawleyville Post Office facility by the end of summer on the website savehawleyvillepo.com.