www.senatenj.com/index.php/district12/freehold-borough-post-office-taken-off-chopping-block/3695 Freehold Borough Post Office Taken Off Chopping Block
Officials from Local, County, State and Federal Governments Worked Together to Save Facility
The 12th District Legislators, as well as officials from Freehold Borough, Monmouth County and House Representative Chris Smith, are happy to announce that the U.S. Post Office located in Freehold Borough, the county seat, will remain open.
The possible closure of the Freehold Borough Post Office was announced in March, and was scheduled to take place in late-August. After a meeting last week with regional representatives from the U.S. Postal Service, Assemblywoman Caroline Casagrande, Rep. Chris Smith, Freehold Borough Council members Kevin Kane and Sharon Shutzer, Freehold Township Mayor Anthony Ammiano, and Freeholders Barbara McMorrow and Lillian Burry, it was announced Monday that the closure was no longer planned to take place.
“This is an important victory for the people who live and work in Freehold Borough,” said Casagrande. “It is the county seat, and, therefore, it is used regularly by not only residents and businesses, but by government officials doing work for the taxpayers of Monmouth County. In a pedestrian town like Freehold Borough, in an area already known for its heavy traffic load, expecting to people to walk two miles along a county road with no sidewalk was unreasonable. The Postal Service made the right decision.”
“Ever since the possible closure was announced,” said Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon, “we have been working with officials in Freehold Borough and Freehold Township, as well officials at the county and federal levels to stop this post office from closing. It’s always gratifying when the different levels of government can work together for the good of the people. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work that way. I’m pleased to see that in this instance, it did.”
The Freehold Borough Post Office has been housed in a trailer for many years, although residents were originally told it would be temporary until a brick and mortar building could be arranged.
“Despite the ‘temporary’ feel of the post office,” said Senator Jennifer Beck, “it plays a key role in the lives of the people who live and work in this community. There are 400 post office boxes used daily. After the March announcement of the closure, we were told a cost benefit analysis would be conducted. It never was. However, we do know that the Freehold Borough post office is running well in the black and does not present any financial drain on the U.S. Postal Service.”
Congressman Chris Smith was an indispensable asset in the struggle to keep this post office branch open.
“This is a positive development,” Smith said. “With the added time, we can now expect that the cost data we have been requesting will be produced and properly analyzed before any final decision is rendered. At our most recent meeting with postal officials we presented information about local commerce, traffic congestion and the needs of local citizens, I.e. postal customers. In every one of the 21 counties in New Jersey, the town which hosts the county government and all its services has its own postal facility, some more than one. The downtown station serves over 25,000 people, including many pedestrians who can’t walk the five-mile round trip to the next town.”
Both Freehold Borough Mayor Michael Wilson and Freehold Township Mayor Anthony Ammiano are pleased with this outcome.
“Freehold Borough is a very pedestrian town,” Wilson said. “People park their cars and walk around to run their errands. We have heavy enough traffic congestion that the more we can get people out of their cars and walking, the better for everyone. As the county seat, Freehold Borough acts as the focal point of commerce, law, government and social services. If people had had to travel to Freehold Township for their postal needs, it would mean more cars on the road, more traffic and fewer people taking advantage of our town’s wonderful business district.”
“Being such close neighbors,” said Ammiano, “we expect to share a certain amount. Many Freehold Township residents shop in Freehold Borough’s downtown. Freehold Borough residents regularly shop at Freehold Raceway Mall. We simply cannot handle one more post office box, one more car or one more customer. And it doesn’t make sense for the 17,500 residents on the east side of the Township to go all the way across town when they could just as easily use the Borough’s post office.”
Freehold Director Barbara McMorrow and Freeholder Lillian Burry attended last week’s meeting and are happy to see, not only a quick decision, but the right decision for Monmouth County and the county seat.
“Monmouth County has an obligation to fight for our residents,” said McMorrow, “and, in this case, we have done just that and won. Access to a U.S. Post Office is something we promise our citizens, and if that post office can be reached without need of a car, which would only add to the traffic and pollution in our area, than the win is even sweeter. I thank the Postal Service officials who made the right judgment.”
“Keeping the Freehold Borough post office open is something we can all agree upon,” said Burry. “It is the County seat and the removal of the post office defies logic. It is important for us to have a working post office, even if it is housed in a trailer. It works for the people of Freehold, and it does so without being a fiscal detriment to the government and the taxpayers. It’s a financially sound institution that meets the needs of the people. That’s not something that can be said very often. We should support the institutions that meet that definition.”
