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Mail delivery restored on West Wabash Avenue, but long-term solution still in the works

A home on the 2700 block of West Wabash is seen on Friday, July 7, 2017, in Spokane, Wash. Neighbors had their mail stopped after a man they say living in this home allegedly threatened a postal worker with a butter knife. Delivery resumed to residents in the three affected blocks, but home delivery remains out of reach. (Tyler Tjomsland / The Spokesman-Review)
By Drew Gerber The Spokesman-Review

Postal service resumed Wednesday for residents of West Wabash Avenue who have not been getting mail since June after the city and Spokane postmaster installed new cluster mailboxes.

The mailboxes are intended as a temporary solution until home mail delivery can be restored by the United States Postal Service, said Councilwoman Karen Stratton. The timeline for that action, however, is uncertain.

While USPS spokesman Ernie Swanson told The Spokesman-Review in July that cluster mailboxes become a permanent method of mail delivery once installed, Stratton emphasized that the mailboxes purchased by the city will only be used until traditional mail delivery resumes.

Stratton, along with Spokane postmaster Earl Eisenrich and USPS customer relations coordinator Mary Smith, handed out mailbox keys to residents Tuesday afternoon.

“I want you all to know how grateful this neighborhood is for our efforts. …We were able to help a neighborhood that truly needed advocates,” Stratton said in an email to her fellow council members, Sen. Maria Cantwell’s and Sen. Patty Murray’s offices, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ office, and other city officials.

The city’s Office of Neighborhood Services originally planned to install the concrete pads needed to support the cluster mailboxes, but the city ended up needing to contract with a third-party company named Accurate Striping, Stratton told The Spokesman-Review last week. Pouring the concrete pads, which took place Saturday, cost $1,825 and used money redistributed from council office budgets, she said.

The contractor she spoke with actually grew up in the Garland-Shadle neighborhood and was happy to be part of the solution, Stratton said.

Thirty-two households along West Wabash Avenue have not been getting their mail delivered since June 15 due to alleged threats against the mail carrier by one of the residents, Greg Huston.

Stratton has previously suggested that Spokane County’s mental health courts could play a role in resolving the issue.