Golden statement on USPS signing new lease for West Paris post office
WASHINGTON — Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02) announced today that the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has signed a lease to reopen the West Paris post office at the site of the former Ledgeview Living Center on 141 Bethel Road.
“This is great news for the people of West Paris,” Golden said. “With this lease signed, residents and small businesses should feel some certainty that now it’s a question of when — not if — their local branch will reopen. After so long, the USPS should pull out all the stops to move as quickly as it can to resume branch services in West Paris.”
The USPS closed the former post office three years ago, during which time there were long periods of uncertainty about whether a new post office would open. Golden, joined by postal workers and customers, repeatedly urged USPS Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to assure a new site would be secured and provide clear, transparent updates about the process.
Most recently, Golden sent a letter on May 30 demanding answers for why the facility remained closed after the agency estimated it would reopen last month, and requested an update for when residents should expect their post office to reopen. USPS released its original timeline after inquiries from Golden regarding the facility’s future in September 2023 and October 2022.
“We would like to thank Rep. Jared Golden and his staff for their persistence with getting our United States Post Office back in West Paris,” Joy Downing, West Paris town manager said.“This is great news, and we are very thankful for their help and collaboration in this effort.”
In 2021, USPS said it was closing the West Paris facility while the agency negotiated a new lease for the property. However, it had yet to provide a substantive update since July 21, 2023, when USPS officials said they expected the facility to be “fully operational” by May 2024. May 28 marked the third anniversary of its closure.
USPS has yet to announce an official reopening date for the new 141 Bethel Road site.
Golden has been a champion of holding the Postal Service accountable to Mainers throughout his time in Congress. Following his outreach to Postmaster General DeJoy last year,USPS reopened its Etna facility, which had also been closed since May 2021. Last month, USPS announced that it was postponing plans to consolidate the Eastern Maine Processing & Distribution Facility in Hampden after bipartisan efforts led by Golden and other members of Congress. His bipartisan Timely Mail Delivery and Postal Services Protection Act — which he introduced in April — would permanently block the process USPS uses to consolidate mail processing facilities across the country.
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