Save the Post Office Charter 

Written by John Borg

OVERVIEW:

• Lots happening on multiple fronts with regards to the Bolinas post office closure. Here is brief update in a few key areas. 

• Everything is in early stages, moving fast, still developing, but end game is get a post office back home in Bolinas asap. 

• There is a lot of work to do, more light to be shed on the closure and our best path forward, but we have made good progress in a few weeks. 

• More citizens have come forth since the March 8 Community Meeting expressing willingness to help. If you can volunteer please contact us.

WHAT WE WANT:

This situation is complicated, no easy fix, and we need to focus pressure on the USPS decision makers, and garner support from elected county, state and federal officials to get a Post Office returned to Bolinas.  

Here is our 3-part demand mantra:

1. Expedite return of Bolinas Post Office to a suitable temporary location within town, until a permanent new location is chosen and available.

2. Ensure a planning process that is more transparent, where the public is given clear and timely information, and opportunity to provide input on decisions regarding the Bolinas Post Office.

3. Sign a long-term lease, or develop a permanent facility, to ensure that the Bolinas Post Office remains securely in our community for the foreseeable future.

WATERHOUSE BUILDING MESS :

• Our overall goal is on returning the Post Office. A lot of citizens are unhappy with ownership of the Waterhouse building complex, and the fact that the owners would not renew the Post Office lease. We’re among them. But we don’t know the full story, and no matter how it happened,  the fact is the post office is gone. 

• The USPS somehow lost the lease, pre-planned to move out, and failed to communicate the shaky lease situation or the closure plans to the community. So we got less than 2 weeks notice, and they move way up the road, with no time to act. Now we are acting. 

• Our focus is on demanding action from the USPS, which fumbled this transition, has not been transparent, and is the final decision maker here. The absentee owner may not have our interests at heart, but he is already involved in at least 3 lawsuits on that site, and we have less leverage with a private land owner looking for a bigger better deal than we do with the government that is supposed to represent our interests. We are all frustrated with that burnt out mess downtown! Our focus may shift over time, but main target is on USPS decision makers for now.

BOLINAS CIVIC GROUP POST OFFICE TEAM:

• A group of individuals are leading the charge to research, plan, interact, engage, and inform on how to respond to this potentially devasting and permanent community loss. 

• Ultimately we hope to establish website dedicated exclusively to providing vetted baseline information on the Bolinas Post Office closure, community goals and plans, actions we can take -- and are taking, officials to target, and relevant updates, maybe a daily blog, etc. 

• It’s a bit ambitious to get this together amidst other tasks. Meanwhile get updates like this on this BCG page.

SAVE BOLINAS POST OFFICE ONLINE PETITION: 

• Our change.org petition caught on fast, and got more than 15,000 views, more than 325 shares, and more than 1000 people signed SAVE BOLINAS POST OFFICE petition in 3 days. Growing daily, 1200 now. 

• More than 500 Bolinas residents have signed, and hundreds from our surrounding communities, Bolinas expats, and other individuals who love and want to protect the Bolinas community.  

• Gets attention of public officials and builds suppport and awareness of our story.

Please review, sign and share: 

https://www.change.org/SaveBolinasPostOffice

BOLINAS POST OFFICE LOCAL POPULATION POLL DATA: 

• Within days we had response from roughly half the households in Bolinas.

• The survey data shows that Bolinas citizens are confused and desire a temporary post office solution within town as soon as possible, while a more permanent solution is resolved. 

• Please participate in the survey if you are a Bolinas resident

ADDITIONAL ADVISORY GROUP POTENTIAL:

• Since the March 8 meeting, we have heard from more members of the community with specific expertise who may be willing to step up and help. 

• We have idea to convene an informal kitchen cabinet of Bolinas residents with knowledge in law, architecture, public health, governmental relations, public policy, construction, real estate management, media, and other practical areas -- to brainstorm or employ skills, expertise or connections to support our goals and help get things done.  

• There is already some additional ad hoc connecting and brainstorming among a select group with these kind of skills.

OFFICIALS TO CONTACT:

• We are confirming a list of targeted officials and contact details that we will publish. The petition shows strong community concern and grassroots letters and postcard campaigns and other actions can help elevate the Bolinas Post Office issue. 

• Here is a work-in-progress list of the top 6 decision makers and officials that we think we need to engage for direct action, commitments and support:

Regional USPS Decision Makers (subject to change when we learn more from USPS):

1)    Raj Sanghera, USPS District Manager California 1

2)    Eduardo H. Ruiz, Jr., USPS VP, Retail and Delivery Operations, Western-Pacific Area

Public Officials:

3)    Jared Huffman, US, Congress, California District 2

4)    Dennis Rodoni, Marin County Supervisor, District 4

5)    Damon Connolly, Assembly Member 12th District, California State Assembly

6)    Mike McGuire, California State Senator District 2

PRESS:

We are working with local press to present a consistent, engaged and reasonable message with strong demands to bring the Bolinas Post Office home to our community. We encourage citizens who have stories of impacts and hardship to communicate it to our team or in public meetings. The human stories of impacts really help tell our story in ways that research and data points just can’t.

ENGAGEMENT WITH OFFICIALS:

Several Bolinas activists have been in conversations with County Supervisor Dennis Rodoni, and his staff, as well as the staff of Congressman Jared Huffman. It is too early to report any progress. Both offices are engaged and seem sympathetic, but we will need more support to navigate a messy project with Federal burecrats and to achieve our desired outcomes.  Any citizen is welcome to reach out to their representatives.

• Rodoni works in Marin and can coordinate with Federal leadership, and work to help expedite county bureaucratic challenges with regards to establishing an interim -- and eventually a permanent -- postal facility location in Bolinas. 

• Huffman is the most critical elected official representing Marin citizen interests with regards to the federal government, including the U.S. Postal Service.  He works in DC. 

• We have not been able to learn how to reach or connect with higher level decision makers at the USPS, so far main target is Raj Sanghera, USPS District Manager California 1. 

• The USPS wants us to talk to the Bolinas Postmaster, or their PR people. These individuals are cordial but have no power to make decisions, and are not able to answer even the most basic questions. So we are pushing strongly for a more relevant USPS contact on our project.