Cordova Post Office has received a special delivery — much-needed repairs to both its public and employee facilities.
City council raised the issue of maintenance at an Oct. 7 meeting after a windstorm broke the closing mechanism on one of the post office’s doors, forcing staff to prop the door closed with a trash can. Another door’s closing mechanism had been broken over a year prior.
“The place is really a mess,” Councilman Tom Bailer remarked at the meeting.
Shortages of supplies and manpower caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic have made it difficult to administer repairs quickly, U.S. Postal Service officials said. However, after the city contacted Juneau USPS officials, a local contractor was hired to repair the door damaged by the storm. Around early January, repairs began in earnest, with USPS workers repairing locks, changing filters and performing numerous other small fixes. Additionally, the lock and closing mechanism on the building’s main public entrance door was fixed.
Cordova’s postal workers have distinguished themselves by providing a level of service “astounding” to out-of-town visitors, said Mayor Clay Koplin, a strong proponent of the repairs.
“Cordova voted for a post office where everybody goes to the post office to get their mail, to keep the cost down, so we can at least take care of the facility we have,” Koplin said. “It still needs some basic TLC.”
In the spring or summer, as stormy winter weather abates, the outside of the post office will also be refurbished, said Melissa Medeiros, a marketing manager for USPS. This work will include repainting the battered concrete bollards at the edge of the parking lot, fixing the flagpole and, if necessary, changing the outdoor lights.
A former Cordova resident, Medeiros said she was pleased the repairs were underway.
“It’s the first community I came to when I moved here — I’ve got a soft spot in my heart for it,” Medeiros said.
