City won't get Post Office Park

The U.S. Postal Service has withdrawn from discussions to sell Post Office Park to the City of Shelton or to trade it for the city's Brewer Park.

The city has leased the quarter-acre park on West Railroad Avenue from the federal government since 1999 in exchange for 20 parking stalls designated for USPS employees on adjacent city streets and all maintenance and upkeep of the park grounds.

But a March 22 letter from the U.S. Postal Service to Shelton City Manager Mark Ziegler states the agency "will be unable to continue discussions regarding a potential sale/exchange of the Shelton Main Post Office with the City's Park. To continue to provide our statutorily mandated universal service of moving the mail, the Postal Service must utilize the entirety of its owned property in Shelton."

The U.S. Postal Service listed three reasons for halting the proposed deal:

■ "The proposed land swap is cost prohibitive and demands a long-term financial burden for the Postal Service."

■ "Relocating postal parking across the street from the post office rather than utilizing its own property for secure parking is less efficient for the Postal Service to move the mail."

■ "Relocating postal parking across the street where there is a known homeless population congregating (and other threats) creates safety and security issues for our employees and customers."

The letter to the city states the Postal Service plans to break ground for its expansion on or about July 1. The agency also states that if the city wants to "relocate" the tree that has been the town's Christmas tree for decades, it can do so before July 1.

Mayor Eric Onisko told the Journal said the city has already spent about $31,000 on the proposed swap, including surveys and appraisals for wrought-iron fencing.

"We thought it was a done deal," he said.

In an interview with the Journal on Tuesday, Ziegler said the notification from the U.S. Postal Service left him "scratching my head." He said he hadn't heard from the agency in several months.

"I was a bit surprised based on the conversations and process we were going through," he said.

The U.S. Postal Service said it will reimburse the money the city has invested on the proposed deal, Ziegler said. As for the Christmas tree, "my anticipation is that it will be removed," he said. "We do not have a plan. They are not required to give us a plan."

Ziegler added, "I guess it's dispiriting because the time and work invested in this process."