For months, residents and businesses have had to travel to East Montpelier or Barre to access most postal services.
"The lack of a post office in our downtown is an equity issue for people who don't have access to a car or who have other mobility issues. It has economic impacts, as it is cumulatively costing Montpelier businesses a significant amount of money as they now have to take time to drive out of town to put packages in the mail."Washington County Sen. Anne Watson
The state's congressional delegation wrote to U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy in the early fall asking for a prompt resolution to this issue. But they've never heard back from him.
Sen. Peter Welch says the failure of the U.S. Postal Service to reopen Montpelier's facility is part of a much bigger mismanagement crisis at the agency affecting postal service in rural America.
"What I'm finding out from talking to my colleagues is that this problem of postal mismanagement and disregard, and disregard for the legitimate concerns of our citizens, is widespread," Welch said.
In late January, the USPS said the announcement of a replacement facility would be made within a week, but it's issued no specific timetable since then.
Vermont Sen. Anne Watson, a Democrat/Progressive from Washington County, says the current situation is untenable.
"The lack of a post office in our downtown is an equity issue for people who don't have access to a car or who have other mobility issues," Watson said. "It has economic impacts, as it is cumulatively costing Montpelier businesses a significant amount of money as they now have to take time to drive out of town to put packages in the mail."
Watson said a copy of the Vermont Senate's resolution will be sent to Postmaster General DeJoy, but she said she would need to travel to Barre to mail it.
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