Everett Leaders Surprised by Post Office Announcement of Closures in Everett

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Editior’s note: An earlier version of this story had Ms. Kuhl’s last name spelled incorrectly. I apologize for the error. LD

The Mayor and members of the Everett City Council expressed surprise tonight as a representative who handles the real estate for the U.S. Postal Service announced the pending closure of the Postal Facility on 100th street SW near Paine Field along with plans to shutter the downtown Everett Post Office and open a smaller facility somewhere nearby. Angela Kuhl, a real estate representative said her presence at the Everett City Council meeting satisfied the Federal requirements for a public meeting but citizens could appeal the decision. She said she would remain in the lobby to meet interested citizens but made no public mention on how people watching the meeting online or via the city’s cable broadcast could comment on the plans. Cole told the city council the main Post Office in downtown Everett is 45,000 square feet and they only need 12,000 feet to serve the public. She said the Post Office, which currently leases the downtown Everett site plans to buy it and then put it up for sale. They will then build a new modern postal facility somewhere in the vicinity. She says they own the Postal Facility on 100th street SW and will close that and sell the building and property and move the operations there to the Post Office Processing Facility over on Hardeson road. City Council President Jeff Moore told Ms. Kuhl several times that a city council meeting was not the proper forum to announce these changes but Kuhhl reiterated that it did satisfy the Federal requirements. Everett Mayor Ray Stephenson told the council that the city did not have any input in the process and wouldn’t until there were permits needed to build any new facility. He also expressed surprise by the method of notifying the city of the changes being announced by the Postal Service.