For the second time in as many years, Gretna officials are gearing up to fight a possible shuttering of the downtown post office. Mayor Belinda Constant said she received notice Wednesday that the Postal Service is considering closing the Third Street train depot location as the federal agency struggles with its finances. City officials will again argue the office...
For the second time in as many years, Gretna officials are gearing up to fight a possible shuttering of the downtown post office. Mayor Belinda Constant said she received notice Wednesday that the Postal Service is considering closing the Third Street train depot location as the federal agency struggles with its finances.
City officials will again argue the office services the heart of Jefferson Parish and Gretna government and local businesses, who would lose time and money to travel to the Gretna Boulevard location. "It's not just a loss for our area of the community; it's critical to business and government,'' Constant said.
She plans to urge the City Council to set a public hearing and rally on the issue at its Aug. 14 meeting. Councilman Joe Marino III, whose district includes downtown, said the location handles a lot of business.
Designated parking spaces allow customers to park next to the downtown Gretna post office, housed in an old train depot. "It's a very busy post office,'' Marino said. "Every time I go in there, there's someone in line.''
As a former administrator with the Jefferson Parish Drug Court, Constant said she's aware of the high volume of mail generated through the judicial system alone. And it's one of the few places downtown where people who must pay fines and fees at the courts may easily purchase money orders, Constant said. "The volume of mail that goes out of that area is significant,'' she said.
The Parish Council on Wednesday passed a hastily crafted resolution, sponsored by Councilman Ricky Templet, opposing a closure. "It's a vital post office in the downtown business district of Gretna,'' he said.
In February 2012, elected officials and residents turned out by the dozens, imploring Postal Service officials to keep the site open. Postal Service officials said at the time that closing the office would save $729,000 over a decade, as the agency struggled with mounting budget deficits.
The Postal Service tried to leave downtown in 2003, when it announced it was closing its location at Huey P. Long Avenue and Fourth Street, which had been a post office since the 1930s. But city officials offered to convert the train depot into a post office, using $100,000 in city and state money for the project. Ultimately the Postal Service agreed, opening a branch in the 900-square foot space with a one-person staff.
Gretna's downtown post office, which serves businesses and the city and Jefferson Parish government complex, is under consideration for closure, Parish Councilman Ricky Templet said. After running an errand for her office, parish employee Elaine Thompson said Thursday she was saddened to learn of the site's uncertain future. She said it is convenient for the government departments and for personnel business as well, when she needs to mail a package or pick up stamps.
"It's going to be time-consuming,'' Thompson said of the prospect of having to travel to the main Gretna post office a mile away. "The service here is quick, personable. You don't have to wait in line long.''
Fearing the worst, said Constant: "We're going to be penalized in the whole mix with everybody else instead of being assessed on our need.''