GALVESTON — The U.S. Postal Service said Tuesday it would work with city officials to return full operations to the island quickly, acknowledging the inconvenience to island residents who have had to make the trek to La Marque to receive mail since Hurricane Ike.
After an emphatic public plea from island Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas on Monday, U.S. Postal Service officials said they had begun discussions with city officials to return postal operations onto the island at the “earliest possible” date.
“We recognize the La Marque site is not convenient for those Galveston residents picking up their mail, and we’re working with the city to quickly transition all mail delivery, mail pickup and retail services back onto the island,” said Kelvin Williams, manager for the Houston district.
Thomas could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Postal operations have been housed at a temporary site at the Gulfway Plaza shopping center, 14047 Delany Road, since Sept. 24. Mail delivery resumed on the island Sept. 29, and has increased to more than 80 percent of all pre-hurricane deliveries as carrier access to mailboxes and buildings improved, officials say.
But exactly when or whether the island’s main office would reopen is beyond the postal service’s control, officials said. The issues are crucial, especially so for downtown companies that rely on mail to do business, including American National Insurance Co., which has said that mail service, or lack thereof, since the hurricane has been a big problem.
The island is home to two post offices — the main one is downtown, 601 25th St., and the other, known as the Bob Lyons Station, is at 5826 Broadway. Both were damaged in the hurricane, which struck Galveston Sept. 13.
The postal service owns the Bob Lyons Station, also flooded, but leases downtown offices in what’s known as the Federal Building, managed by the General Services Administration. That building sustained flooding in the basement and damage to its electrical grid, but postal offices weren’t harmed, officials say.
It could take about six months to repair the Bob Lyons Station. Officials with the General Services Administration could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
The U.S. Postal Service said it would discuss several options with island officials, including adding more portable buildings for mail pickup and retail service and deployment of “cluster box” units into neighborhoods where it’s hard for letter carriers to reach individual addresses.
Cluster boxes are free-standing units with up to 16 locked mailboxes, along with parcel lockers and a slot for outbound mail.
Mail for post office box customers in ZIP Code 77552 began operating today from portable buildings at the Bob Lyons Station. All other services for Bob Lyons Station (ZIP codes 77551, 77552 and 77554) will move to the Bob Lyons Station from La Marque by Oct. 27, officials said.
The island’s main post office serves ZIP Codes 77550, 77553 and 77555.
U.S. Postal Service officials said General Services Administration officials have offered “no final disposition” for the Federal Building.
U.S. Postal Service officials would work with city officials to find alternate retail service, mail delivery and mail pickup options for businesses and residents.
Reporter Laura Elder can be reached at 409-683-5248 or laura.elder(at)galvnews.com.
