Spokane7
67°
November 14, 2011 in Business, City
Downtown Spokane post office to stay open
The U.S. Post Office has decided it won’t move out of the downtown branch on Riverside Avenue and Lincoln Street in Spokane.
(Full-size photo)
Postal Service officials have changed their minds and will keep open the downtown Spokane Riverside Avenue post office.
Spokane Postmaster Karen Fairlee said the decision was made at the U.S. Postal Service’s Seattle office. She was not available on today for details on the decision, said Sharon Wesselman, the Spokane USPS customer relations manager.
In August the Postal Service said the Riverside Station would close and be relocated elsewhere downtown. Several downtown carriers using it would be relocated to the Liberty Park Post Office.
The announced plan meant all downtown retail and post office box operations would relocate in early 2012.
The decision to close the office would have reduced the annual $350,000 lease paid to the General Services Administration to use the 102-year old Riverside station. The post office has about 1,600 boxes there, and rents about 1,000.
The postal service uses space on the first floor and a loading dock in the basement. The plans to shut down the post office would have no impact on the federal Bankruptcy Court, which operates on upper floors of the building.
In addition to the carriers, about 15 other postal service employees work in the branch.
Garco awarded $35.8 million Joint Base Lewis-McChord contract 
soccermomsusie on November 14 at 12:11 p.m.
That’s a bummer. Mayor Condon said he would try to get a dollar store in there to take the post office’s spot. There go the Demoncrats trying to undermine our Republican mayor!!!
HEAR OUR VOICE!!!
another_perspective on November 14 at 12:59 p.m.
Blonde Squawker used to work at a dollar store. She was released from employment for asking for too many price checks.
zelda on November 14 at 1:14 p.m.
This is welcome news. Closure of this building would have left a gigantic office space hole in the heart of downtown.
reservedparking on November 14 at 1:16 p.m.
Oh, no, Susie.. he’s (cough) non-partisan (cough cough)!
toms on November 14 at 2:08 p.m.
GSA should take the unused portion and dedicate it as Free Office space for serious startups. That main area has 20,000 sf of space the post office isn’t able to use.
reservedparking on November 14 at 3:32 p.m.
Maybe ought to change the caption under that picture, since the story seems to state otherwise…
DickAdams on November 14 at 8:19 p.m.
I thought at the outset it didn`t make much sense to merely move to another building considering the moving costs etc. This on again off again shows the kind of leadership and how their decisions, wishy washy at best are implemented. Maybe the huge debt of the UPS wouldn`t be as large with competent officials doing the right thing in the first place?
drywitt99 on November 14 at 10:45 p.m.
DickAdams….you dick.
USPS pays for itself. Its the Congress that saddled them with
with pension payments that NO OTHER ENTERPRISE in the world is faced with.
Try to send something with FedEx for 42 cents!
woamike on November 14 at 11:01 p.m.
“USPS pays for itself.” Sure - The same way BHO has “created” or “saved” a gajillion jobs, we can continue to spend at epic levels because our debt is still “manageable” and Obamacare will make things better.
Tell us again when you’re moving to the utopia known as Seattle… planning on throwing a big going away party in your honor the day after you leave. Need any help packing??
Prediction: even when he moves, he won’t leave this board.
drywitt99 on November 14 at 11:19 p.m.
Paraphrasing SNL circa 1977:
woamike…..you ignorant slut…..
“2006 legislation requiring the USPS to prepay 75 years’ worth of employee benefits over 10 year…has required USPS to pay about $5.5 billion per year to do so. The result, according to an Economic Policy Institute study, is an excessive burden:
The Postal Service was debt-free at the end of its 2005 fiscal year, but ended the 2009 fiscal year—three years after the pre-funding requirement began—with $10.2 billion in debt. It could borrow another $3 billion in 2010 and could hit its $15 billion statutory debt limit in 2011.”
http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/September-2011/The-Impending-Death-of-the-US-Postal-Service
Thank you Speaker Dennis Hastert (R) and the 109th Congress.
Already packed woam….SW flight #895 Tuesday 8:35am.
And yes….I’ll still be here…..to counteract the trolls….