KAILUA-KONA — The U.S. Postal Service is mulling moving the Kamuela Post Office from its current location to better meet the needs of the area’s customers.
The item is on the agenda for April’s meeting of the Waimea Community Association, where USPS officials will be in attendance. That meeting is slated for 5:15 p.m. on April 4 at Waimea Elementary School.
“We’ve really wanted this for a really long time,” said Patti Cook, president of the Waimea Community Association.
The post office is currently located at 67-1197 Mamalahoa Highway adjacent to Parker Ranch Shopping Center in Waimea. But Cook said the community has long outgrown the post office’s current site.
Parking, she said, has been a huge issue and moving the post office would also accommodate future widening of Lindsey Road.
USPS spokesperson Duke Gonzales said the issue’s been prompted by “a severe lack of space” at the post office, causing impacts to operations and its ability to meet its customers needs.
“The Kamuela Post Office parking lot is frequently filled or backed up, a situation that will worsen due to the road-widening project adjacent to the facility,” he said. “The road project will eliminate the drive-through mailbox outside the Post Office and a portion of the customer parking area. Our preference is to move to a site in the community that provides better access and better meets the overall needs of our customers.”
Gonzales said no possible alternate locations have been identified yet and the service is open to recommendations for possible sites and buildings. Those who have any recommendations, he said, can contact Kamuela’s postmaster.
Federal code regulates the process for relocating a post office, Gonzales said, and that process requires a public notification and comment period before any decisions are made. That includes officials’ appearance at the upcoming meeting.
Before the USPS makes its final decision, the public will have 30 days after the meeting to send in written comments. Those comments can be addressed to Patricia Webb, Real Estate &Assets U.S. Postal Service, PO Box 27497, Greensboro, NC 27498-1103
Some time after the comment period, Gonzales said, the input will be evaluated and a decision to either move forward, change or cancel the proposal will take place. That decision will then be sent to the mayor and posted at the post office for the community.