By Patrick W. Connelly
SHARON — Rain, snow and sleet may not stop the U.S. Postal Service’s daily routine, but an 80 percent economic downswing at a Sharon branch office might.
The agency could opt to close Buhl Station at 87 Stambaugh Ave. within the next 60 days after watching use of the branch dwindle, Chuck McCreadie, senior manager of postal operations for the service’s Erie district, said.
About 40 people pleaded the branch’s case Thursday night and pitched ideas that could help it stay open during a meeting at the Elks Club in Sharon.
“We need to be like everybody and look for ways so our rates stay stabilized,” McCreadie said.
Yearly sales at Buhl Station at one time were near $1 million but have dropped $800,000 in the past 10 years, McCreadie said.
Both Buhl Station and the branch in Hermitage Square Plaza are extensions of downtown Sharon’s main office, he said.
The downtown office on Shenango Avenue has seen a 7 percent decrease in sales in the same time frame, while the Hermitage branch continues to grow.
The postal service had looked at building a new office in the Sharon area with another location in either Sharon or Hermitage that would serve as a satellite outlet, McCreadie said.
Due to economic cuts across the board, he said those plans were scrapped and others were thrown into the mix.
“It’s not like we picked out Sharon and zeroed in on the Buhl Station,” McCreadie noted.
The Stambaugh Avenue branch opened about 25 years ago after the postal service relocated it from a building near Daffin’s Candies on East State Street, he said.
The agency’s lease on the building runs through the end of 2009, but will be cut short in the event they decide to close it, he said.
The branch’s clerk would also be reassigned, he said.
The postal service signed a 5-year lease to stay at its Shenango Avenue office, McCreadie said. It looked at moving to a more central location but couldn’t find a viable site, he said.
“We tried like heck to find a smaller place,” he said, pointing out parking near the office can be difficult, as it can be at Buhl Station.
Despite that, Sharon Mayor Bob Lucas said the branch “is in one of the hearts of our financial districts” with it’s proximity to the hospital of Sharon Regional Health System.
Lucas asked McCreadie to delay closing the branch for several years in hopes a project to revitalize the city takes off.
“One of the corridors we’re looking at is right where that post office sits,” the mayor said, also noting the branch’s importance to it’s surrounding neighborhood.
Sharon is still a walking community and, for many, that’s the main mode of transportation to the post office, Lucas said.
“When you’re walking, that makes a big difference,” he added.
McCreadie said almost all the services the branch offers can be done right from home, which he said can be a convenience for the elderly.
“You don’t need the Internet to get service at your home,” he said.
Municipalities with much larger populations operate fine with a single office, McCreadie said.
Duplicate branches have also been closed recently in New Castle, Butler and Altoona, he said.
McCreadie said anyone with questions or suggestions can contact him; Chet Marsh, manager of the Hermitage branch; or Nancy Sibeto, Sharon’s postmaster.
