City Council to Discuss Potential Post Office Closures

The Alexandria City Council will discuss the potential closure of two post offices at its Tuesday night meeting, including on Mt. Vernon Avenue.

because it falls under criteria for evaluation by the U.S. Postal Service as it attempts to scale back its retail network to cut costs.

Specifically, the Del Ray post office is being considered for closure because it makes less than $600,000 in annual revenue and five or more “access points”—places that sell stamps or provide postal services—exist within two miles of the office, according to Dennis Voorhees, manager of postal operations in Virginia.

A larger post office is located just a mile away from Potomac Station at .

Voorhees and other postal officials hosted a meeting about the Potomac Station’s potential closure on Oct. 27, where .

In a Del Ray Patch poll of more than 200 readers, 59 percent said they believed closing Potomac Station would hurt Del Ray.

Voorhees said a decision about closing Potomac Station would not be made until the end of the year. If a decision is made to close the location, a 30-day notice will be posted at the office.

That decision can be appealed, which Voorhees said is a 120-day process.

Voorhees will be taking comments from customers and citizens about the targeted offices until Wednesday.

Comments can be mailed to the Post Office Review Coordinator at P.O. Box 3603, Winchester, Va. 22604.

In a message to Del Ray Patch in October, Councilman Rob Krupicka said he is following the issue closely and believes “it is important we keep our post office.”

U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-8th)  to the chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission in September urging that Potomac Station remain open.

Moran argued the “theoretical savings generated by closing the facility do not justify the costs to the community that would result from a closure.”

The Seminary Road post office is the other Alexandria location under review.

Tuesday’s council meeting begins at 7 p.m. at .