It's Coming...Just Wait

By Lillie Bucholz
August 24th brought several people from the community of Doland and surrounding area together to find out about the future plans of the Doland Post Office. After the Doland Post Office closed, the citizens of the town had 'boxes' that were put up on the sidewalk by the library. For more than a year, people in Doland have had to travel to mail packages or stand out in the heat or cold to get their mail. August 24th brought some hope.

Mayor Craig Schroeder let everyone know that the meeting was an informational meeting for a building. Then he introduced Greg Shelton. Mr. Shelton is the Real Estate Specialist for the United States Post Office.
Mr. Shelton introduced himself, explained what he does and stated, "There will definitely be a post office building here." He has been working with Mayor Schroeder for several months to see things come together to get to this point.
After looking at several building in town, they came to the meeting with some information that would let the people know what plans were, where the potential buildings were for a post office and the steps needed to take to get one up and running.
There were four possibilities that were mentioned, but as the meeting progressed, some other ideas came up for other buildings in town. Buildings considered are but not limited to the strip mall on the west side of town, the old bank building, the old gas station on Humphrey Drive and the library. Mr. Shelton explained the pros and cons of each building and let everyone know if there were other buildings to consider, just let him know. Greeny's Bar was one option that was brought up. As a last resort, if a building can not be found, they would bring in a modular building that would be a double wide. They would rent the land and put the building up with a crane.
Mr. Shelton explained some of the requirements for the building such as a back room that needs to be locked so mail could be brought in for the postmaster to take care of it when their shift began. There also needs to be at least 900 square feet and the ability for nine people to park. The building also needs to be ADA (handicap) accessible. Older buildings would need to be tested for asbestos. All of the buildings would need to be remodeled and built for the post office specifications.
Questions that came forth were about funding for a building, what the responsibility of the landlord and the post office would be for a building, who would be responsible for the maintenance, how do they figure fair market value for renting, how long Greg had been at his job, what the hours of the post office would be and will we keep the same box numbers. Each question was answered thoroughly.
During the next thirty days, from the date of the meeting, you have the opportunity to get a hold of Craig Schroeder with any comments, oppositions or other input.
After the thirty days, the Postal Service will inform the Mayor of Doland and execute the paperwork to get things started.