USPS drops Farmington from fix-it list

FARMINGTON — Despite being named seven years ago Utah's mail center most in need of replacement, the little yellow brick building at the bend in State Street is staying put.

The U.S. Postal Service's top priority for the state no longer even makes the list. Even though the agency has already purchased the building lot, it can no longer justify the new post office under its new set of construction criteria that Farmington doesn't meet.

The population hasn't grown enough and mail carriers aren't cramped enough to warrant the building, postal service representatives said.

Other cities, including Tooele, Syracuse and Lehi — some of the fastest-growing cities in Utah — meet the criteria but haven't been approved for new post offices. Syracuse residents must travel to Clearfield for mail service; the city only has one blue drop box for letters.

L.T. Johnson, a facility-requirements specialist with the Western Facilities Service Office in Denver, says because of the budget crisis, the postal service has been forced to evaluate new building projects on a national basis.

"Instead of using regional determinations, cities are being considered in a national pool," said Johnson. "We are allocating our capital resources based on the needs nationwide. Now the state of Utah is competing with all other offices throughout the nation."

The most recent Utah city to receive a new post office is Riverton — built because of the city's high growth rate and a highway project that eliminated all parking at the city's old postal building.

Farmington officials said their cry for a new post office deserves additional consideration. Last week, the mayor and city council sent a letter to the postal service requesting they review Farmington's situation.

"The city and its elected officials are trying to break through the morass of bureaucratic rules and regulations and new criteria established for the building of post offices so that we can get one here in Farmington," said city manager Max Forbush. "My goodness, a number of years ago, the postal service actually contacted us because they wanted a new site here."

Forbush says the vacant land set aside for the new post office is an eyesore. The city spent about $100,000 to prepare for the new building and nothing new has been built. The current building is "woefully undersized," said Forbush.