‘Save Hawleyville Post Office’ Group Declares Victory

By Nancy K. Crevier

While the closing of the Hawleyville Post Office on Valentine’s Day, February 14, will still break many hearts, community organizer Ann Marie Mitchell and members of the Save Hawleyville Post Office committee were thrilled to find out Wednesday morning, February 4, that thanks to the diligence of Congressman Chris Murphy “and his outstanding staff” that what looked like a death knell for the Route 25 facility could truly be just a temporary inconvenience.

A press release issued by the congressman’s office the morning of February 4 read in part, “After months of uncertainty concerning the fate of the Hawleyville Post Office, today Congressman Chris Murphy (CT-5) declared victory and announced that the United States Postal Service has approved a new facility, to be built under an expedited schedule, so that Hawleyville residents will continue to have their postal needs fully served.”

“This is a tremendous victory for Hawleyville, and a shining example of how a community rallying together for a common cause can make a difference. I am thrilled to have been a part of this effort, and I look forward to joining Hawleyville residents to celebrate their new post office location,” said Congressman Murphy.

Ms Mitchell and the committee that she heads to save the 165-year-old Hawleyville Post Office on Route 25 from a February 14 closing have been doggedly pursuing the issue since the committee first met Friday, January 23. “The committee members were outstanding,” said Ms Mitchell.

Committee member and website designer for the organization Terry Laslo agreed with Ms Mitchell. “The response to help has been fantastic, more than I thought we would get,” said Ms Laslo in an email to The Bee.

Along with the website savehawleyvillepo.com, members posted petitions and a signboard at the Route 25 businesses M&G Cleaners and The Hawleyville Deli, enlisted the support of Congressman Murphy, Newtown First Selectman Joe Borst, reached out to Governor M. Jodi Rell, and contacted Ed Phelan, United States Postal Service (USPS) district manager for the Connecticut District. As of February 2, more than 1,000 signatures had been collected in support of saving the small post office.

The press release went on to say, “Last week, Murphy was in constant communication with all stakeholders — including Postal Service representatives and concerned residents — pressing all parties to come to the table and find a solution, and was cautiously optimistic that a permanent location in Hawleyville would be found. Late yesterday [February 3], Murphy’s office was notified by the Postal Service’s District Manager for the Connecticut District, Edward F. Phelan, Jr, that he received confirmation that the funding request for a replacement facility for the current Hawleyville Post Office was approved. This is the final requirement needed to insure a move to new quarters in the community.”

“This funding will allow the Postal Service to expedite its relocation. It will provide in excess of 1,800 square feet of new space for postal employees and customers. It also provides for a long-term lease and a capital investment that will provide a vibrant Post Office presence in Hawleyville, with room to grow.”

The press release also contained the following statement from Mr Phelan: “As we look forward to the completion of that facility, we will continue with our plans to temporarily relocate to the Newtown Post Office over the Presidents’ Day weekend. Although no timetable for final relocation has been established, the Postal Service is hopeful for late summer occupancy in its new location.” 

Mr Phelan concluded, “This funding comes at a difficult time for the Postal Service and may not have been possible without the continued interest and support of Congressman Chris Murphy, in Connecticut’s 5th Congressional District, as well as Senators Lieberman and Dodd. Today’s announcement is certainly welcome news to their offices, as it is to the residents of Hawleyville.”

Kristen Bossi, communications spokesperson for Congressman Murphy’s Washington, D.C., office said that she did not believe the USPS had finalized negotiations on any particular space for the new postal facility at this time, but that Congressman Murphy felt very confident that with funding from the Washington, D.C., USPS that the process would definitely be expedited.

“This is a testimony to the community, and to Chris Murphy and his office,” said Ms Mitchell. “We are grateful to Ed Phelan and the USPS as well. Mr Phelan did use his highest level of expertise in working with Chris Murphy to achieve this goal.”

The efforts of the Save Hawleyville Post Office committee may have had some impact on the issuance of funding, said Maureen Marion, spokesperson for the USPS, on February 4, but added, “We have said all along the USPS was working hard to make this happen. The combined effort of all the attention has pushed us to the opportunity to secure funds even in this difficult economic time.”

The assurance that the closure of Hawleyville Post Office would be only temporary does not alleviate the problems for the post office box holders there who must still decide if they will take the time and effort to fetch their mail at the Newtown facility to which the patrons have been redirected, or use other post offices in the surrounding towns.

Mike Kulikowski, postmaster at the Newtown facility, declined to comment Monday, February 2, on how the Commerce Road post office would handle the influx of approximately 200 new box holders displaced from Hawleyville Post Office beginning February 17, and referred The Bee back to Maureen Marion.

The Newtown Post Office will be prepared for the new customers, said Ms Marion. “We will be using the staff from the Hawleyville Post Office at least at the onset to smooth the transition,” she said, and new keys for the boxes will be immediately available that day.

“We may need extra hands to absorb the initial workload, but we will have to see what the tempo of business will be like for the first few days,” Ms Marion said.

In a response issued Tuesday, February 2, on the behalf of Mr Phelan, Ms Marion said, “Performance of the office or staffing did not influence this decision [to close the Hawleyville Post Office on February 14]. We have said clearly throughout this situation, our need to leave Hawleyville Post Office as it is now situated is related solely to our lease and for concerns for the conditions of the office. Even the Hawleyville website contains a New York Times article from October 2007 where the railroad admitted the site was not a good one. The building is not well suited to the workload, to security, or to safe loading. And nobody should have to wear a coat to work, all day, no matter how much their customers love them.”

At the heart of the issue was the question as to why the Hawleyville Post Office could not remain open in the interim, a question that has not fully been answered. The February 2 statement from Mr Phelan sought to clarify that issue stating that a “game effort” was made by the USPS to continue negotiations and explore alternatives. It noted, “But we have been evicted, receiving a notice to vacate as recently as mid-December that said to leave at the end of the month. Since the final offer of the lessor at that time was not one that we could accept, we stood on that December notice to leave and informed all parties that we would. Our decision at this point is not negotiable.”

On Tuesday, February 3, Edward Rodriguez, counsel for the Housatonic Railroad, issued a letter to James Hickey in the USPS Facilities Service Office clarifying the position of HRR.

“Housatonic Railroad is still willing to allow the USPS to continue to occupy the facility on a month-to-month basis in accordance with the terms of the lease agreement that we thought that we negotiated after service of the notice to quit in September. If USPS is interested but believes that the proposed new rent is unreasonable, we are willing to discuss a rent that USPS thinks is reasonable. Housatonic Railroad remains willing to consider a rehabilitation of the facility if a long-term lease agreement can be reached with USPS or even to arrange for the construction of the new facility. Of course, the option of vacating the premises in February, which I understand to be the USPS preference, remains.”

Not An Eviction

The USPS was not evicted in December, said Mr Rodriguez. “The beginning of December, someone in my office sent a brief letter to Mr Hickey asking that he agree to the terms of the negotiations or vacate the building by December 31. An eviction is a notice served by the marshal. We did serve an eviction on September 29. An eviction has legal effect. A letter [like the one sent in December] has no legal effect,” explained Mr Rodriguez, stressing once again that the HRR is still open to having the USPS as a renter. “All we want is 30 days notice when they want to vacate. If the USPS doesn’t like the proposed rent, we’ll discuss that, too,” said Mr Rodriguez.

The committee had hoped to schedule a town meeting with representatives from the USPS, said Ms Mitchell, to clarify why Hawleyville Post Office must be closed. In light of Wednesday’s announcement, however, she said that the committee would probably not pursue that avenue. “The committee is going with Chris Murphy’s solution to the problem. We’re right behind him on this and trust the process completely. It’s win, win, win,” Ms Mitchell said. “We hope that people will go into the Newtown and Brookfield post office facilities in good grace and as good ‘guests’ until we have the Hawleyville Post Office up and running again.”

The website, savehawleyvillepo.com, will remain up in order to provide the community with updates through the transition, and hopefully, as tangible signs of the new space appear, she said.

“Today it’s Hawleyville, tomorrow it will be somebody else’s small post office,” reflected Ms Mitchell. “Places and service like [that of the Hawleyville Post Office] are a quality of our small New England towns — place like the churches, the town halls, the small businesses. These are foundations of every community.”