Meeting on possible E. Andover P.O. closing Feb. 1

There will be an informational meeting on Feb. 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the Andover Town Hall to discuss the closure study of the East Andover Post Office. (The meeting, originally scheduled for last week, was postponed to next week.)

Residents are encouraged to attend and voice their opinion.

The East Andover Post Office, the smallest and possibly the most photographed post office in western Maine, was added to the list in August, of those in danger of being closed due to economic issues and the declining utilization of the U.S. Postal Service. In a letter, U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe said, "It is critical we carefully assess the potential impact of these proposed closures, especially as it relates to service in rural communities. I am encouraged USPS intends to work with community retailers to continue providing postal services in affected communities and I will closely monitor this situation to ensure that, in the event of any post office closures, USPS continues to meet the needs of rural customers in Maine and nationwide."

According to the USPS, the closure is an attempt to cut costs after reporting a $2.6 billion loss on March 31, 2011, the USPS believes it can save $200 million by closing 3,700 of its 32,000 post offices nationwide. Over 3,000 of the offices identified reported less than $27,500 in annual revenue.

The small East Andover post office, which sits in front of the local air field owned by the Swain family, is photographed by hundreds of passers-by each year and serves as the "water cooler" for residents who travel anywhere from across the street or the six miles from up on Farmer's Hill to get their mail and get the town news of the day.

Laura Hutchins, owner of the building the post office is operated out of, noted in a previous interview, "It would be a shame to see this place close. Not only would I lose a monthly rent from it, but there are a lot of older folks that depend on this place so they don't have to travel too far from home."

In respect to the possible closure of the post office, Tom Rizzo, Communications Director for the USPS, noted, "First of all, we don't expect all of the post offices on the list to close. There is a process that needs to be followed and the local Portland Division will be reviewing the data for the East Andover Post Office. From that data, we'll be able to move forward with their recommendations. In no way do we want to abandon the small town Maine post office."

The USPS envisions Village Post Offices throughout the country and in this case, rural Maine, to help enhance the availability of services, products and ease of use. These Village Post Offices would be designated inside an existing store front, according to Rizzo.

"We see the Village Post Office as the future and it's a win, win, win scenario," stated Rizzo. "Our customers will have increased hours of access to most products and services, local retailers will see increased foot traffic and the postal service will be able to take out that overhead which accurately reflects today's community shopping habits."

The USPS saw a loss of $8 billion last year. Rizzo noted, "We simply have to find a smarter and better way to fulfill customers’ needs.”

To learn more, visit www.usps.com and click on Newsroom at the bottom of the page.