Arnold and the U.S. Postal Service have settled an issue after the city issued a stop work order for renovations planned for the space in the Water Tower shopping plaza where the USPS will open a new Arnold Post Office.
The city issued the order on Aug. 15 at the location, 2184 Michigan Ave. A Here Today store used to operate in the space.
“The Post Office, being a federal agency, believed they were exempt from any of our permitting, plan review and inspection processes,” City Administrator Bryan Richison said on Aug. 29. “Our city attorney (Bob Sweeney) found sections in the U.S. code that say in a lease situation, they actually are not.”
The USPS is leasing the space because it closed the city’s Post Office at 1314 Jeffco Blvd. on Jan. 31.
Building Commissioner Randy Noland said contractors were at the new location when the stop work order was issued, but he does not believe any renovation work had started.
He said he met with the project’s architects on Aug. 26 to review the renovation plans.
“We had a very productive meeting,” Noland said. “I assume they will come in for a permit any day. We are just waiting to get the formal application.”
Noland said the stop work order is in effect until the USPS secures a permit for the renovation work, adding that the city cannot charge a federal agency for permits.
“They have turned in new drawings based on our conversations,” he said. “The plan review part is all over.”
A temporary trailer has been set up in the parking lot outside the location that will house the new Post Office. A mail collection box is also set up in the parking lot, and PO Boxes line a portion of the sidewalk in front of the new location.
The USPS did not respond to an email for comment before the Leader deadline.
In the past, a USPS spokesman said the agency is trying to accommodate residents while they wait for a new Post Office to open.
“The delivery of mail and packages to our customers will not be affected during this transition. Arnold is a very important community to the Postal Service,” Mark Inglett, a U.S. Postal Service strategic communications specialist, said in February. “Our goal was to have our new facility nearby and to continue providing the same level of exceptional service to our customers.”
A Chase Bank branch is being built at the former Post Office location, which is across the street from the Water Tower shopping plaza. A bank spokesman said the new branch is expected to open soon.