By Kevin Doonan

Sun Staff Writer

kdoonan@evesun.com

SMYRNA – A meeting discussing the future of the Smyrna Post Office had to be relocated from its original venue in the Post Office to the Town Hall due to the overwhelming turnout Wednesday. Even with the change in venue, the town hall was jam-packed as over 60 people attended the 3:30 p.m. meeting. Post Office Supervisor for the CNY East District Michelle Jewell addressed those assembled as a representative from the United States Post Office Review Coordinator’s office.

“I have been to about 30 or so of these meetings, and this is the first time we have ever had to move because of the volume of people,” said Jewell.

The U.S. Post Office has been losing money due to a shrinking demand for its services and an overdeveloped infrastructure, said Jewell. Subsequently, the U.S. Post Office has decided to make cuts to its network to reduce overhead expenditures in an effort to save $1.2 billion by next month. Originally, part of that plan was to shut down many post offices such as the one in Smyrna, she said. After deliberations in Congress though, it has been decided to instead consolidate the U.S. Post Office’s operations and to keep many rural post offices open, she continued.

Four options are being considered by the Post Office Review Coordinator’s office for towns like Smyrna, targeted for consolidation. The first option is to keep the post office open and reduce the hours the retail window is open. The second option is close the post office and to move it into a local business. The third option is to shut down the post office completely and provide P.O. Box services at another location. The fourth option involves closing the post office and placing all of the mail into a bin on the street.