Moraga Town Council Versus the U.S. Postal Service, Part I

Wednesday's Moraga Town Council meeting tackled the possible closure of the Country Club Station Post Office, building options for the Moraga Town Council chambers and consideration of a construction agreement for the field renovation.

Proclamations announced by Mayor Karen Mendonca made May 15 to 21 both National Public Works Week and National Police Week and stepped up to the podium to say he felt valued by the town, expressing pride in the eight officers who had filed into the auditorium behind him.

“The thing I enjoy the most about this community is that everybody goes out of their way to make us feel appreciated,” he said.

In other action Mayor Mendonca announced that she and , were starting a six month experiment, Mendonca noting that there was an obvious need to be more available to people in the town. From 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. on the third Friday of each month, Mendonca and Keimach will be at the back table at restaurant in Moraga to answer questions and hear concerns from Moraga residents. 

Then it was down to business.

A report by Planning Director Lori Salamack summarized the April 19 public meeting about the possible closure of Moraga's County Club Station. She said the town council could influence any decision to close the satellite postal office by sending a draft letter to the Postmaster and the district manager of the station.

Council member Mike Metcalf asked if Salamack or anyone in the town offices had been contacted by anyone in the postal service about this possible closure prior to the meeting.

Salamack said she had not, and repeated that a letter of protest may help the town make the case for keeping the station open. The station is profitable and the community will be adversely affected by the decision, she reported.

Metcalf asked if a draft letter the town council had been presented with had to be “so polite.”

Keimach offered, at the council’s direction, to make the letter “less polite.”

Richard Andrews kicked off public comments by saying he would be directly impacted by the closure. He referred to a Wall Street Journal article which reported that closures are being questioned in other communities.

“This location is making money, so what really is the issue here?” he asked.

Andrews called Saint Mary’s College’s post office "a joke, if you can find it," and criticized the parking access. He said there were 2,000 locations across the nation that were being proposed for closure and said he thought the council should consider appealing to the EPA and the Postal Regulatory Commission.

Zoe Klippert said it had been 18 months since the first notice was sent out and that the process has been confusing and peculiar.

“I had a sense the postal people had no idea of how to talk to a group," she said. "There were assumptions made that they could do this, with no explanation. That’s really inexcusable.”

Klippert said council’s letter should really be explicit, but that she didn’t think there would be anyone at the post office who would understand it.

“Good luck,” she said, before returning to her seat.

Ellen Bean raised a question about the legal actions available, saying it was her understanding that any future closure would require an act of Congress.

Council member Howard Harpham asked Senior Planner Richard Chamberlain to look into the legal possibilities. 

Dale Walwark said he thought it would only be necessary to have Congressional approval when closing a town’s only station, but not a satellite site.

Chamberlain commented that political pressure and environmental concerns had been used to influence the postal service when the Rheem Valley station was being built.

Metcalf said the letter had to be rewritten and be more punchy.

Mendonca offered to help produce a civil, but “punchy” letter.

Council member Dave Trotter suggested adding information about the mobility problems of many of Moraga’s senior residents who use the station and council member Ken Chew supported other member’s suggestions to shorten the letter and add bullet points to drive home the town’s major points.

There was extended discussion about whether or not the station was profitable. Mendonca said an article in the Contra Costa Times had not been clear on the issue, but her understanding was that the postal service did not always consider profitability when determining closures.

Salamack said she had been told the Post Office would not be making a decision before June 1, so the council had only this month to act.

Mendonca expressed concern that she had heard May 18 was the deadline.

Keimach said the letters the Niles community had written “swamped” the post office and had a large impact on a station there remaining open. She submitted the staff had enough information to proceed on the Post Office issue and moved the meeting to the next item on the agenda.

Keimach reported on the five options and related costs that had been studied for the Moraga Town Council's permanent chambers, which include:

• Remodel existing offices at 329 Rheem
• Extend the community room at the library
• Remodel the Casita at Hacienda
• Remodel La Sala at Hacienda
• Stay at Joaquin Moraga Auditorium 

Keimach recommended the council narrow its choices and urged them to pursue renovations at the 329 Rheem location. Mixing ideas about the Hacienda and developing it as a revenue stream should be considered separately, she said.

Parking at 329 was a problem, the public and council members agreed, but one that was not insurmountable.

The council focused on the two options: one with a $177,000 price tag, and a second, at an estimated cost of $265,000.

Trotter and Metcalf both emphasized paying attention to voters and what the community would support.

Mendonca said she’d like to share the rationale for choosing the more expensive option now with the town, instead of building “on the cheap,” then having to go back and redo it later.

“I hate to think we’re going to spend $170,000 and the population walks in and says, ‘We hate this! It’s ugly!’ she said. “I’d rather have them not vote for us, and do the right thing for the town.”

Mendonca recommended Keimach bring back a more detailed funding plan for two of the 329 renovation proposals at a future council meeting.

Discussions then turned to a pending agreement with Jensen Landscape & Construction Company of San Jose to begin construction of the Camino Pablo Elementary School Field Renovation Project. The results of that portion of the meeting will be reported soon.