It's been 14 months since Montpelier has had a fully functional post office following the historic floods of July 2023, and local officials are outraged at how the U.S. Postal Service has responded to the needs of the capital city.
"I really like to not think that it's ill intent when incompetence will do, but I have to say in this situation I think it's maybe a little bit of both," said Ben Doyle, the chairman of Montpelier's Recovery and Resilience Commission. "The national leadership of the U.S. Postal Service has shown what I consider really to be contempt for rural America."
The floods caused massive damage to the Post Office Building on State Street. Federal officials are not certain if the building will ever be reopened.
Earlier this summer, USPS restored P.O. Box service in Montpelier, but no retail operations. This means many residents and businesses still need to travel to East Montpelier or Barre.
As the closure continues, Doyle said there's an ongoing impact to downtown Montpelier retailers who are struggling.
"For them to just leave a real gaping hole in our downtown is a symbol of indifference that I think is just unacceptable coming from public servants," Doyle said.
A regional USPS spokesperson has not responded to numerous phone calls from Vermont Public to discuss this issue. In an email he wrote, "we do not have a timetable to report at this time."
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