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Hernando Today

Community rallies to save postal branch

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By MICHAEL D. BATES

Hernando Today

Published: October 21, 2009

BROOKSVILLE - Outside the window of American Weight Loss at Spring Hill Plaza is a red poster-size sign that says: "Save Our Spring Hill Post Office" and invites people inside to sign a petition.

As of Wednesday morning, Clinic owner Angela Kneip said more than 75 people had signed it in the span of two weeks.
Kneip hopes there will be more so the U.S. Postal Service spares the branch at 7341 Spring Hill Drive and about 400 others throughout the country.
Kneip said it would not only inconvenience residents but also hurt the three dozen or so business owners in that long-established plaza, many of which also display a sign and offer a petition book.

Many postal patrons, she said, visit other stores in the plaza, located near Kass Circle, including hers which is only two doors down.

"I think it's going to hurt (us)," she said. "I really do."

Frank Camilliti, owner of Frank's Tailor Shop next to the post office, said thousands of people come in and out of that branch daily and many of them stop into his business when they're done.

Camilliti said he can't figure out why they would close it when it's so busy. He also wonders about the future of his shop after it's gone.

"They stop, they look around, they go to the other stores in the plaza," he said. "If they close, there won't be as much traffic. It would definitely have an impact on all of us."

While he talks, Jerry Charette of Spring Hill drops off a pair of pants for Camilliti to alter.

After he heard it would take about 10 minutes, Charette decided to stroll along the plaza and look at other businesses - as he normally does when he drops off clothes or uses the post office.

"You're going to start seeing some of these stores closing down," Charette said.
Charette said it will be inconvenient for him to go to the Philatelic Drive postal branch, at 7489 Forest Oaks Blvd. about five miles away.

Officially, the postal service has not made a decision yet to close the branch. But it did acknowledge it was one of about 13 sites in the Tampa region on the list. Originally, the USPS announced in August about 1,000 post offices nationwide were being eyed for shuttering or consolidation.

Faced with a drop-off of customers and almost $6 billion in lost revenue this year, the service is looking at ways to recoup costs.

In these technological times, more people are doing their postal activities via the computer - everything from buying stamps to paying bills online.

Bruce Strumpf, who represents the owner of the plaza, fired off a letter to U.S. Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite, R-Brooksville, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Orlando and postal authorities to intervene.

"The post office is much more than just a component in the tenant mix at Spring Hill Plaza," Strumpf said in an Oct. 13 letter. "It could easily be defined as the 'life blood' of the center."

Strumpf stressed most of the tenants are small business owners and "mom and pop" concerns "struggling in this tough economic climate.

"This past summer has been brutal and sales have withered," he said. "Tenants are absolutely unable to sustain another decrease in sales. Two of our stores went out of business last month alone."

"The outcome of this matter will affect much more than just the U.S. Post Office's bottom line," added Strumpf, who said he has a list of about 800 names on the petition.

U.S. Postal service officials meet monthly to determine the fate of the targeted post office closings, said Gary Sawtelle, postal spokesman for the Suncoast District.

They take into consideration how many customers are served by the Spring Hill branch and how many substations surround that site.

Other factors that weigh into the decision are service standards, cost savings, customer access, real estate values, impact on employees and long-term needs of the postal service, Sawtelle said.

Brooksville is considered a level 24 region, which means it meets the criteria for having several postal branches in the area, Sawtelle said.

Postal authorities have already whittled down the number of possible closings from 1,000 to 700, Sawtelle said. It's premature to say whether Spring Hill will make the final cut, he said.

"We're being very deliberate in our approach because we want to make sure we get (these consolidations) right."

That decision can't come soon enough for people like Bob D'onofrio, owner of Suncoast Turf Care and Pest management Inc., who said he comes to that post office every day to check his business post office box.

"It's just an integral part of the community,' D'onofrio said.

Reporter Michael D. Bates can be reached at 352-544-5290 or mbates@hernandotoday.com.

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