The Postal Service is looking to purchase a new building or vacant site for a new post office that would replace the existing facilities in Mansfield Township.
By: William Wichert
MANSFIELD Representatives of the U.S. Postal Service approached the Township Committee last week to discuss their preliminary plans to build a new post office in the municipality, but residents already wanted to know what it would take to change the name of the facility and its delivery area.
The Postal Service is looking to purchase a new building or vacant site for a new 5,000-square-foot post office that would replace the existing facilities on Atlantic Avenue, John Gordon, facility manager for the Postal Service, said at the May 11 Township Committee meeting. The Postal Service currently leases a 1,600-square-foot building as well as additional space at the Stevenson Lumber Yard.
Mr. Gordon said the Postal Service was in the process of researching prospective sites for the new facility, but one possibility may soon be found at the municipal building on East Main Street, which township officials are considering leaving for a new home on Route 206 South.
"We talked about this building being a possibility down the road," said Mr. Gordon. "It’s premature to say it’s available."
The municipality is currently in the middle of negotiations with New Millennium Development to purchase its two-story, 60,000-square-foot office complex on Route 206 near Hedding Road, said Township Committeeman Jaime Devereaux in a phone interview on Tuesday.
Officials have said the current asking price for the complex is $5.1 million, and then an additional $2 million worth of upgrades that would be needed, but no deal has been reached yet.
Wherever the new post office is built, Bob Franchino, a resident of the Four Seasons at Mapleton development, said he would like to see the name of the facility changed to read "Mansfield Township" and not just "Columbus."
"As a new resident, I get the feeling this community is polarized in neighborhoods," said Mr. Franchino. "It would seem to me that you’d want to label that post office with a name that satisfies all the residents."
Township Administrator Joseph Broski pointed out that the township’s postal facility also will continue to serve residents in Springfield and Chesterfield townships. "I would imagine they don’t put Columbus on their mailing addresses," he said.
The name of the mailing address is exactly what bothers Township Committeewoman Terri Tallon-Hammill, whose home in the Hedding section is serviced by the Bordentown post office. Like many Hedding residents, Ms. Tallon-Hammill must write "Bordentown" on her mail and not "Mansfield."
"I’ve had a terrible problem my whole life, not knowing where I live," said Ms. Tallon-Hammill at the meeting. "I identify myself with Mansfield Township."
Mr. Gordon said it would be easy to change the name of the new post office, but changing established delivery routes is much more difficult.

