Congressman Bob Latta issued the following statement in regards to the city of Waterville's post office remaining open: "it is very important for residents of the Waterville area to retain all the benefits that a local post office provides from receiving mail, applying for passports, to shipping packages."
ORIGINAL STORY: The city of Waterville is about to lose its post office and that's not sitting well with a lot of people.
The lease on the downtown building is up the end of this month and after that, all services and workers will be moved to Maumee. The 43566 zip code will be without a post office.
There is a chance this could be avoided. The mayor says he is working hard to keep the post office open either in its current location or a new building if a lease deal can't be inked out The problem is he hasn't had much time to get everything organized.
Mayor Derek Merrin says he just found out about it less than a week ago. "We have gotten no official word from the Postal Service with regard to their intentions and their plans. Frankly we all feel a bit blind-sided by this announcement and we are doing everything in our power to save the post office. I am hopeful the postal service will agree that it's worthwhile to have a post office in a city that has a population of 5,000 and is growing. It is in everyone's best interest if it remains here in Waterville."
We mapped out just how far a trip to the post office will be for people in Waterville if their post office closes. The Haskins post office is the closest at just over three miles. The Monclova post office is about five miles away. It's about six miles to Whitehouse and nearly seven miles to the Maumee post office.
Sally Croy has been coming to the Waterville post office for more than five decades and she doesn't want to have to drive elsewhere. "I am brokenhearted. I have been using this post office for 55 years. It's a longer drive to Perrysburg or Maumee. I hope something will happen and it will be able to stay."
Mayor Merrin says he's working with Congressman Bob Latta, the property owner and the United States Postal Service to come to an agreement.
We talked with a post office spokesman today and he said the issue in Waterville has nothing to do with post office downsizing around the country. He also said it is not unusual for the post office to lease and not own its buildings.
