Balm residents object to potential closing of post office

Southeast Hillsborough residents recently gathered to fight for the future of a piece of the county's past.

The historic Balm post office, which first opened its doors in 1905, is one of several facilities in Central Florida being considered for closure by the U.S. Postal Service.

Officials from the Suncoast District of the USPS hosted an April 13 community meeting at the post office to answer questions and gather feedback.

"I want to make it clear that, right now, it (closing the post office) is something that's being considered. No decision has been made," said Gary Sawtelle, spokesman for the district.

As more people pay their bills online or rely solely on emails to correspond, Sawtelle said that in the past five years the volume of mail has decreased by more than 43 billion pieces in the United States. Additionally, the USPS workforce has been reduced by more than 200,000 workers in the same period.

"Five years ago, we were building post offices," he said. "Now we're in a situation where we have to evaluate our finances just to maintain what we're doing."

Sawtelle said the Balm post office will be unable to make its payroll in October. He added the timeline for a decision on the facility's fate is late July or early August and the earliest the post office would close is October or November.

He estimates that closing the facility will save more than $650,000 in the next 10 years.

Revenue is one of several factors that will ultimately figure into the decision. Another factor is the proximity of other post offices. There is a post office off of State Road 674 in Wimauma, which is a little more than five miles away from the Balm facility.

Sawtelle noted USPS processing and distribution centers in Lakeland and St. Petersburg had each been consolidated to Tampa in the past five years.

"We're here so you can tell us why we should keep this post office open — reasons that we can't get from looking at statistics in a computer," Sawtelle said.

Balm residents, many of whom have lived in the area their entire lives, were more than happy to oblige.

Several of them took issue with statements made within a five-page informational package that was placed in front of area post office boxes earlier this month. A cover letter from Leroy Middleton, post office operations manager in Tampa, stated that the Balm post office was "vacant" and that there was currently no growth in the Balm area.

Middleton clarified that the Balm post office is technically considered vacant because, although Postmaster Diane Felter works there five days a week, she's not officially assigned to that facility.

As for the issue of growth, several Balm residents noted that they have been forced to use Wimauma home mailing addresses, so growth in the area may not be properly catalogued.

"I don't live in Wimauma, I live in Balm," said Danny Dixon. He added that there are new homes being built on Grady Sweat Lane, which is less than a mile away from the post office, to prove that there is growth in the area.

Dixon said he visits the Balm post office six days a week. He calculated that if he visited another facility with the same frequency, the round trip from his home on McGrady Road to either the Wimauma or Riverview post offices will result in an additional 3,494 or 3,744 miles per year, respectively.

Some residents already go out of their way to support the area post office.

"I own a small business, and I have people ask me all the time why I don't do online billing," said Angie Burch, owner of Burch's Landscape Maintenance. "I tell them that I keep coming in here so I can support my area post office."

Other residents are concerned about the threat of mail theft. Many people in the area live on property where their mailbox is not easily visible from their home.

Mary Lepochap, who works at Falcon Towing Mechanic next door to the post office, said she has had medication and bills stolen from her mailbox.

Gerald Davis said he relies on the post office to receive invoices from his business.

"I don't necessarily want eight or nine checks, which can total more than $100,000, sitting in my box," Davis said.

Davis, a descendant of one of Balm's founding families, also said that the post office is invaluable to the area from a historical standpoint.

"This is the core," he said. "This is the identity of Balm."

jceballos@tampatrib.com

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