Postal service mulls new facility for Cape

A second post office facility could be in Cape Girardeau's future. It would be an addition on the city's west side long sought by city and civic leaders.

A temporary west side retail post office could be in operation in Cape Girardeau within a month, postmaster Mike Keefe said Thursday. Keefe said postal officials have all but assured him that a temporary facility will be opened. Several businesses have expressed interest in operating a retail post office, he said.

An established business would be contracted to provide the space and operate the facility, he said, noting that Food Giant supermarket in Cape Girardeau at one time had a small post office in its store.

The postal service can sign a temporary contract without having to advertise for proposals, he said.

At the same time, postal officials are exploring the feasibility of establishing a permanent west side retail post office to complement the old post office on Frederick Street to be reopened later this year, Keefe said.

Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson was thrilled with the news. "I am very hopeful we will be able to have the level of mail service that we deserve in Cape Girardeau," he said.

On March 28, the U.S. Postal Service purchased the Cape Girardeau post office building on Frederick Street it vacated a year ago and announced plans to renovate the structure and move back in by September.

Civic leaders and U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson had argued that a new, more centrally located site would be preferable to customers. In recent months, Emerson has pleaded her case in letters to top postal officials in the region.

The postal service paid $500,000 to buy the 18,000-square-foot building at 320 Frederick St. it had leased for 38 years before vacating last year, federal officials said. The agency purchased the building from C. Allin Means, a journalism professor in Durant, Okla., who bought the building in 1992.

The postal service plans to spend another $300,000 to renovate the building, according to Emerson.

"The citizens of Cape Girardeau rightly believe that $800,000 would have been better spent on a newer, more convenient location," Emerson wrote in an April 13 letter to Sylvester Black, vice president of area operations with the regional office in Denver.

"A solution is not only a matter of convenience, it is an economic development issue for the largest city in the 8th congressional district," Emerson wrote.

While Cape Girardeau currently has only one post office, the city of Paducah, Ky., has three post offices, the congresswoman said. The two cities are similar in population and mail circulation.

As a regional hub, more than 100,000 people a day travel in and around Cape Girardeau, said Keefe, who has long wanted a retail post office on the city's west side.

A retail post office was being planned for the city's west side several years ago, Keefe said, but the anthrax threat in 2001 resulted in a drop in mail volume and prompted the postal service to focus on combating bioterrorism.

The agency so far has spent more $1.2 billion nationwide to combat the terrorism threat, Keefe said.

The postal service moved out of the Frederick Street building in March 2004, citing structural problems with the roof. It moved into temporary quarters at 284 Christine St., which still serves as the post office today. The postal service plans to shut down the Christine Street office when it moves back into the Frederick Street building.

The Christine Street post office has limited parking as does the Frederick Street site, Keefe said. He said the city needs a retail post office near Kingshighway that has sufficient parking.

The postal service plans to replace the roof and upgrade the electrical and lighting systems in the Frederick Street building. The post office boxes in the building will be replaced with new boxes with metal doors rather than glass fronts for better security, Keefe said.

The agency also plans to renovate the lobby, he said.

mbliss@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 123