The fire that destroyed Healdsburg's post office last month may have done what postal officials couldn't do before — permanently close the downtown facility.
Postal officials said Wednesday they will not relocate on the site of the burned building, even though the property owners would like to rebuild and have the post office as a tenant.
"As far as going back to the old location where the post office was before the fire, we have ruled that out," said James Wigdel, spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service. "We let the landlord know we won't re-lease the facility. It was larger than we needed."
He did say the postal service will be polling residents and left open the possibility of some kind of downtown presence in the future.
But council members who met with postal representatives last week are convinced the post office will operate exclusively out of the carrier annex a half-mile away.
"We were essentially told the permanent location for the post office will be at the annex. It was apparent to me the decision was already made," Mayor Jim Wood said Wednesday.
"They weren't leaving many doors open for any sort of facility downtown," he said.
Healdsburg residents two years ago rose up in opposition when the post office, in a cost-cutting move, announced its intent to close the downtown post office on Center Street, a block off the central plaza. The building's annual lease cost was $80,000.
But postal officials relented in the face of the residents' rallying cry that the downtown post office has been a part of the fabric of the community for decades, serving as an informal meeting place and conveniently located within walking distances to businesses.
Wigdel said Wednesday the changes made at the carrier annex in the wake of the Aug. 14 fire are permanent. They include the relocation of more than 1,700 customer post office boxes to the annex and the offering of counter service, including stamp sales and package shipment.
He said, however, that the postal service is still attempting to determine whether to re-create a post office of some type downtown.
"We are still open to working with the community to determine whether a postal presence in the downtown area can still be established," he said.
He said that will be determined after a survey of Healdsburg residential and business customers is completed.
Wigdel said the survey forms will go out to customers next week and probably take three to four weeks to complete and compile.
"We will look at the data and look at how it's going at the annex and make a determination from there," he said.
But those who attended a meeting last week with postal district officials came away with the impression that a decision already had been made to vacate the downtown.
"We went around and around. It was a very disappointing meeting," said Ray Holley, a communications consultant and local newspaper columnist.
He said postal officials stressed that they have a mandate to cuts costs and that includes consolidating locations wherever possible.
Holley said he has been rebuffed in efforts to obtain details on the profitability of the Healdsburg downtown post office.
Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena, whose district encompasses Healdsburg, said in a statement: "Two years ago I worked with the community to keep the old post office open. Unfortunately because of the fire, that fight is not finished. I will continue to stand with the community and work hard to meet their postal needs.
Wigdel said the postal service doesn't comment on the finances and profitability of local post offices. But he reiterated that the postal service has been a victim of declining mail volumes and is projected to lose $7 billion nationwide at the close of this fiscal year.
As far as soliciting information from customers in a survey, Holley said postal officials seemed to already have their minds made up.
"I think the survey is a way to humor us," he said.
Wood said that when postal officials were asked about options for some sort of a storefront downtown, such as a small retail facility that would sell stamps and handle packages, "they didn't seem interested."
He said the message was "if it's going to cost the post office anything, it won't work for us."
"There's not much of a crack in the door when someone says that," he said.
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