“I think of all the area branches on that list, Scotia has the best cause because it is a walking town,” said Village of Scotia Mayor Kris Kastberg, “it’s a big relief for us.”
The village branch, which was originally created as a part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal, was targeted for closing as a part of the US Postal Services efforts to consolidate post offices across the country. Of the 240 station and branch study across the county, Scotia was among three other branches in the area that are being considered for closing, including Pine, Patroon and Delaware Stations in Albany. No decisions have been made on the other three area offices because of the decision to keep the Scotia post office open and members of the USPS are still reviewing and taking all considerations into account before making any permanent decisions.
“Just because Scotia has remained open, it does not mean that we are going to close the other three offices in Albany,” said Public Affairs Specialist for the USPS Maureen Marion. “While this is good new for the city of Scotia, it is still work ahead for us. We’re really listening to what people are saying.”
According to Marion, the USPS is looking at each site on a case by case basis, reviewing the situation according to each community’s needs. Marion stated that they are looking at additional ways to save their resources without changing any services, believing that the process in Scotia showed the USPS that just because they looked at a an office that they haven’t reached a decision.
“If they had closed our office it would have completely removed any presence of the post office in Scotia,” said Kastberg, who believes that the people of Scotia live in this area because of how the community is centrally located. “Having it removed would have changed the character of Scotia. It’s a big relief to me.”
