Mayor formally objects to closure of Blue Springs post office

Closing the downtown Blue Springs post office would create a “major stumbling block” to that area’s revitalization, Mayor Carson Ross wrote in a recent letter to postal authorities.

Ross’s letter represents a formal appeal of the U.S. Postal Service’s plan to close the building at 200 N.W. 11th St. and move operations to 500 S.W. South Ave., east of Missouri 7.

The closing would detract from recent efforts by Blue Springs leaders to create the kind of “walkable environments” that more communities are working to build, Ross wrote.

“The people of our community expect crucial governmental services to be located in an accessible and convenient location,” he added.

Ross also wondered about possible upgrades needed for the South Avenue building and how those would be financed.

Given the traffic counts monitored at the downtown post office, he wrote, parking facilities at the South Avenue building might have to be expanded. Other necessary infrastructure work could include new traffic lanes and a traffic signal.

The costs could reach $5 million, Ross wrote.

“If these improvements are to be paid for by the Postal Service, the economic viability of the closure seems in question,” Ross wrote.

“Conversely, if these costs are to be passed on to the City, they present an undue economic hardship.”

Postal officials have said that pressure to operate as efficiently as possible argued in favor of moving the downtown operations to South Avenue, which has almost twice the square footage.

Other organizations submitted their own letters in support of retaining the downtown post office. They included the Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce, the Blue Springs School District and the Blue Springs Economic Development Corp.

Those letters were bundled and forwarded to postal authorities by certified mail.