CORTEZ – A short walk to the post office today was a big victory for residents of the historic fishing village, who fought for and won a reprieve from the federal government on the closure of their post office.
An announcement posted on the window that the post office would close on Oct. 24 mobilized residents to contact U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R – Manatee) and Manatee County commissioners earlier this month, saying they did not want to travel more than 5 miles each way to the Palma Sola post office to get their mail every day.
“The United States Postal Service is pleased to announce to our customers that we have reached an interim solution to allow operations to continue at the Cortez Post Office,” Corporate Communications officer David Walton said Friday in a statement. “We are currently working with the lessor on a long-term solution so we can continue to provide postal services to residents of Cortez from our existing location.”
Landlord John Banyas did not renew the lease on the post office in his strip mall at 12112 44th Ave. W. after postal officials refused to add him to an insurance policy, which he requested after being sued by a man injured by a falling flagpole owned by the post office.
Suncoast Postal District Manager Stephen Hardin said the federal agency is optimistic there will be a long-term agreement reached this week, according to Buchanan, who wrote the agency about the closure.
“I am pleased to see the Cortez post office remain open for now. This offers local residents, many of whom are elderly, a reprieve from any undue burden closing this facility would have caused as the Postal Service works on a more permanent solution,” Buchanan said in a statement. “I will continue my efforts working with the Postal Service to ensure my constituents in the area have convenient mail service.”
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