PARADISE VALLEY, AZ — Town leaders in Paradise Valley are fighting the announced closure of a beloved post office after the United States Postal Service abruptly informed the town of their plans to shut it all down.
Paradise Valley has only one post office in town, located right inside the town hall. According to town officials, it has been around for more than 60 years.
“We’ve been using it — me and my wife and family — for about 10, 15, 20 years now,” said Taj Sabet, a Paradise Valley resident.
But last month, the USPS dropped a bombshell: they want to shut down the post office in Paradise Valley.
“We didn’t have any pre-warning or any notification, just a letter,” said Mayor Mark Stanton.
“Why would they do such a thing? Is it costing them a lot of money?” said Sabet.
Turns out, it is not costing the Feds a lot. In fact, Stanton says the town owns the building and pays for the supplies and personnel.
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If the post office closes, the nearest ones are in Scottsdale or Phoenix.
“Why waste all the gas and pollute the air when you can just zip down the street?” said R.L. Whitmer, who says he also uses the post office in Paradise Valley.
“We don’t really have a lot of community gathering places in Paradise Valley. Town Hall is one of them, and the postal service is a great magnet,” said Stanton.
ABC15 reached out to the USPS to get some answers.
In an email response to our questions, a spokesperson replied:
“The Postal Service sometimes contracts with retailers to host Contract Postal Units, or CPUs, within a retail establishment, operated by the retailer’s employees. CPUs can provide communities with expanded access to postal services, but they are not operated by the Postal Service. In all instances, CPU agreements may be terminated by either party upon 120 days' written notice.
In the case of the Paradise Valley CPU, located at 6401 E Lincoln Dr, Paradise Valley, AZ 85253, the Postal Service determined that nearby postal facilities are able to serve the community. The closest Postal Service-operated retail facility to the Paradise Valley CPU is the Scottsdale Hopi Post Office which is 4.2 miles away at 8790 E Via De Ventura, Scottsdale, AZ 85258.”
The post office is set to close on September 30, but not if the town can help it.
“There’s no benefit to closing it that we can see, but we’re happy to talk to them. We’re hoping we can get this resolved before the end of the summer,” said Stanton.
