GILROY
– From his mayoral seat that expires in about six weeks, Tom
Springer pitched an idea for expanding the Gilroy post office he
says he’s had for months.
GILROY – From his mayoral seat that expires in about six weeks, Tom Springer pitched an idea for expanding the Gilroy post office he says he’s had for months.
Springer is asking City Council to consider charging developers an extra fee to pay for expanding Gilroy’s post office or building a new facility entirely. Springer says if developers are charged, say $2,000 per home, the city would have nearly $7 million in 10 years.
“We know the existing post office is overcrowded, but we can’t let this be a federal government problem just because the post office is a federal building. We use the post office in this city, and we need to contribute our share,” Springer said. “It would drive up the cost of homes by $2,000, but everything drives up the price of homes, including greed.”
Springer based the $2,000 charge on existing library impact fees ($1,810) levied on home builders. The library impact fee is analogous to a post office fee, Springer said, because both buildings are not city-owned. The library is part of a county system.
“I don’t see why we can’t have a post office impact fee if we have a library impact fee,” Springer said.
The mayor presented the idea to a quiet City Council after a three-hour session on developer impact fees. The city is considering how it should charge developers for public facility improvements and maintenance over the next 40 years.
Springer wants Council and city staff to begin meeting with U.S. Postal Service officials to design a master plan for the Gilroy post office. The master plan would specify whether to rebuild the existing post office at Fourth and Eigleberry streets, build a larger post office elsewhere or construct a satellite post office in addition to the existing facility.
Gilroy Postmaster Penny Yates is warm to the idea of a new post office facility.
“Everyone would like to have a nice new building,” Yates said.
But the 11-year Gilroy postmaster said the town is not in any dire need for a new facility.
“As far as the internal workings of the post office are concerned, we are not overcrowded,” Yates said. “We have no safety hazards or non-compliance issues when it comes to numbers of carriers and vehicles.”
But customers wouldn’t mind shorter lines and more street parking, Yates admits.
A new facility could bring more parking to Gilroy post office customers, but more staffing would be needed to reduce wait time in line.
“Staffing isn’t necessarily increased when a post office is expanded,” Yates said.
