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A big question that comes up every few years has returned to the mouths – and keyboards – of residents of Nome.
“Is the Post Office moving?”
A post to the Nome Chatter Facebook group questioning the possibility of an upcoming relocation of the post office’s downtown Nome location drew rumors and speculation. The big question, long on the minds of residents of Nome, made it all the way to August 12’s City Council meeting.
City of Nome Mayor John Handeland posed the big question during his mayor’s remarks. He then shared some post office history and personal grievances over the course of five minutes.
Then, Councilmember Scot Henderson asked the big question of Handeland.
“So inquiring minds want to know, are we moving the post office or not?” Henderson asked.
“Hell no,” Handeland retorted. “But I have another plan if they don't like their current digs, how we could help them. But that's not for tonight's discussion.”
Before the meeting began, James Boxrud from USPS’s Strategic Communications WestPac team based in Denver confirmed to KNOM that “There are no plans to move the Post Office.”
KNOM provided this update to the Nome Chatter group, prompting Handeland to mention the comment in his remarks at the council meeting. Handeland expressed his distrust with the Anchorage office, suggesting that there may be a disconnect in communication between local employees and the post office’s national media team.
“We've had Senators talk to the post office in Anchorage and get from them their commitment that, you know, our mail wasn't going to go back. Has that happened? No. I have no trust in the Anchorage post office people down there,” Handeland said.
The distrust is one symptom of a larger issue; the community’s desire for improved mail service. Long lines plague the lobby of the post office as oftentimes one employee rushes to and from the counter to ferry packages packed with essential and affordable goods.
Residents have shared that packages with minor labeling errors are regularly returned to their senders. With USPS packages already taking up to five times longer to deliver than the national average, this has caused frustration amongst the community. Handeland shared that he has raised the issue of returned packages with legislators, to no avail.
Handeland also shared a story about a PO Box belonging to the Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum that turned over to a resident after a renewal notice went unanswered.
“I don't know how long the Carrie M. McLain Memorial Museum has had box 52 in Nome Alaska, and somehow that notification got lost. And when Cheryl went to try to unlock the box, it was frozen. So she went back to ask the post office about getting the box and they had given it to somebody else. You know, that's not acceptable, in my opinion.”
Handeland expressed frustration with the requirements to secure a new PO Box, a process that requires a photo ID and a non-photo ID such as a lease agreement, deed of trust, voter ID, or car insurance policy.
“And then, the outrageous verification stuff that people have to go through to go and get their deed to their house and cross reference it to a tax bill and all that stuff. I mean, it's crazy,” Handeland said.
Handeland offered to draft a letter on behalf of the city requesting that the issues he outlined at the meeting be addressed. His offer went unopposed by the council.
