Parkman Residents to Receive Mail at Middlefield Post Office Temporarily

April 26, 2018 by Diane Ryder

Parkman Township residents who have a Post Office box in their 44080 ZIP Code will receive their mail temporarily at the Middlefield Post Office after the Parkman Post Office closes April 28, when its decades-old lease expires, township trustees announced April 17.

The 170-year-old brick building, a tiny landmark in the center of the township, has been leased by the United States Postal Service as far back as anyone can remember. The building’s owners, Joe and Dorrie Keough, told trustees April 3 they had reluctantly decided to terminate the month-to-month lease at the end of April.

Dorrie told trustees the building’s maintenance had deteriorated in recent months, including frozen pipes and flooding in January and floors that, in their opinion, had become unsafe. The Keoughs, who do not have a key to the building because of the lease with the postal service, had no choice but to take over the building before someone was injured, they told trustees.

April 17, trustees said they have been in close contact with local and regional postal officials as they try to find an alternate location for the Post Office, which serves about 60 township residents who cannot get home delivery.

Trustee Jon Ferguson said most residents receive home delivery of their mail from surrounding communities, including Middlefield, Farmington, Burton and Garrettsville. The part-time Post Office in Parkman, with the 44080 ZIP Code, mails packages and contains Post Office boxes.

Ferguson said the Parkman Post Office has had its share of problems over the years, including lack of parking, lack of Americans with Disabilities Act compliance and other issues.

“Fifteen years ago, the postal service wanted to park a trailer here at the community house to use as a Post Office,” Ferguson recalled. “Trustees at the time talked about it and said, ‘no way.’ The township had no intention of being a landlord to a federal entity.”

Ferguson said there is no obvious place in the township to re-locate the Post Office at this time. Plans are in the works to develop the commercial area on the north side of Main Market Road, but nothing has been finalized and any new buildings will be at least a year away.

Plans are also being developed for commercial property on the south side of the road, near the existing Post Office building, but any construction could be years away, the trustee said.

“What happens if there is no new Post Office? We don’t have an answer to that,” Ferguson said.

Trustee Dennis Ikeler said he had been interviewed by a Cleveland television news crew about the closing and asked how he felt about it.

“There have been some issues with it that last couple of years, and I told them yes, I am upset about losing our Post Office,” Ikeler said. “It may not affect a lot of people, but it’s important to the people who use it, not just for mailing packages, but a lot of people use it as a conversation spot.”

Ferguson said postal officials have made temporary arrangements to transfer the Post Office boxes to the Middlefield Post Office, with some people keeping their numbers, but getting a new key. In some cases, the person will need to fill out a change of address card and notify utilities, credit card companies and anyone else who bills them.

Some people will be able to get home delivery. Ferguson said Middlefield postal authorities will be contacting each Parkman box holder to explain their options to them and a community meeting will be held soon to discuss the issue with residents.

“There are packets of change-of-address cards at the Post Office for anyone who needs them,” Ferguson said. “The good news is, if there is a change, all of your junk mail drops off.”

Ferguson said the last day for service at the Parkman Post Office will be April 27.