For most of us, U.S. Postal Service (USPS) struggles mean delayed deliveries or missing mail. Some people, however, have faced more serious impediments to sending and receiving packages. The agency has closed post offices and halted delivered operations in several different parts of the country this year for a multitude of reasons, and 2023 is likely to bring about more closures, both temporary and permanent. In fact, the USPS has already announced suspensions of services to prepare for next year. Read on to find out more about the facilities that will be shut down in 2023.
READ THIS NEXT: USPS Is Getting Rid of This Permanently, as of Jan. 31.
Last month, the USPS confirmed that some of its leased facilities are set to shutter in 2023.
First on the chopping block is the Mack's Inn Contract Postal Unit in Island Park, Idaho. According to a press release from the USPS, this postal facility will be closing, effective Jan. 15. "The current provider has chosen to terminate their contract," the agency explained.
Then as of Feb. 28, the Postal Service will be suspending service at its Big Sky Post Office in Montana. The agency said it "will be forced to close" this facility because the current provider has also chosen to terminate its contract. "In the case of this leased facility, the lessor has chosen not to renew the lease," the USPS explained.
But that's not the only lease ending in 2023.
Some Tennessee residents will soon be one post office down.
The downtown post office in Johnson City will be closing next year, local CBS-affiliate WJHL reported on Dec. 8. Charlie Stahl, the assistant city manager, told the news outlet that the East Main Street facility's lease expires on Aug. 31, and there is no option to renew. According to Stahl, the city reached out to USPS officials about the expiration date more than a year ago, but there are still no plans set for future mail service.
"Communication from the Postal Service has been limited," he explained to WJHL. "The City has offered the services of its Economic Development Director to identify suitable alternate sites but thus far the Postal Service has not responded to this offer."
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The Johnson City Post Office has been in its current building for nearly 50 years, according to WJHL. Postal Service officials have been able to renew the facility's lease several times throughout the decades, but Stahl told the news outlet in May that this will no longer be an option in 2023 as the current lease faces termination.
"It was a city building, built in 1973 specifically to be a post office, and they've had 5-year lease terms with options to renew over the past 50 years, obviously," he said. "They have renewed those leases, and it's now at the point where it's going to expire next year."
When Best Life reached out to the Postal Service about the upcoming closure, the agency indicated that it is planning to take action. Evelina Ramirez, a USPS media spokesperson who oversees media relations for this area, said that this leased facility "will remain under normal operations" right now.
"We anticipate operations to continue at least through August 2023, as the Postal Service works closely with the property owner on a solution or finding an alternate location," Ramirez said. "As an integral part of the communities we serve, the U.S. Postal Service strives every day to provide excellent service to our valued customers."
The USPS spokesperson declined to comment on specific details about any plans for an alternate Johnson City Post Office location. And the agency did not indicate whether or not customers in the city should expect any interruption to their mail service when the current property's lease expires. But other recent closures may not inspire much confidence.
The Postal Service says it currently maintains more than 25,300 leased facilities throughout the U.S. However, at least two communities have lost their post office because of lease problems in the past two years and have still not gotten a new facility.
In March 2022, a contracted postal unit (CPU) in Sigurd, Utah, closed after its contractor retired. As a result, residents are still without mail service despite petitioning and requesting change from city officials and the USPS, local news outlet Fox 13 reported in July. "It seems like they've got us on ignore," resident Mike Roberts told the news outlet.
Over in Alabama, the city of Spanish Fort has been without a post office since Jan. 2021, when the USPS opted not to renew the contract for the leased facility, according to AL.com. Representative Jerry Carl told the news outlet he has received "well over 300 complaints" from residents who are frustrated with the lack of mail service in the city as a result. "We have repeatedly pushed the USPS to fix this problem, and we will continue to do all we can to get Spanish Fort the postal service it needs," Carl said.
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