The Akron Post Office will remain open after the U.S. Postal Service reversed its decision to permanently close the facility, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell announced Friday.
The lease has been signed by all parties and renewed for five years, Sewell said in a social media post Friday morning.
“Following our letter and Tuesday’s community conversation, USPS reversed course and reached out to the property owner to renew the lease,” Sewell said.
“This is a huge win for the people of Akron.”
The reversal came days after USPS announced Monday that the post office would permanently close Oct. 31 due to non-renewal of the lease.
The facility at 197 First Avenue South had closed Oct. 14, 16 days earlier than the Oct. 30 date the agency had announced to residents, according to Sewell.
Akron Mayor Christopher Rollins reported the closure to Sewell’s office.
In a letter dated Oct. 16 to Postmaster General David Steiner and Senior Vice President Benjamin Kuo, Sewell said her office was informed that USPS chained the doors of the facility, began moving mail to Moundville and dismantled P.O. boxes.
Sewell raised concerns about the timing, noting it could affect voters’ ability to receive and return absentee ballots before the Hale County deadline of Oct. 27.
The letter also stated that P.O. box holders received no instructions on how to retrieve their mail at the Moundville location, leaving residents uncertain about accessing essential correspondence including ballots, Social Security checks, medications and bills.
The congresswoman questioned whether the closure violates procedural requirements under 39 CFR § 241.3, which require advance public notice and community input before permanently discontinuing postal services.
USPS had placed a mobile retail unit at the Akron location where customers can conduct transactions and pick up packages Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Sewell credited community members and those who attended a Tuesday town hall for the reversal.
“Your advocacy is the reason why this lease agreement was signed and the post office will be reopened,” she said.
“...When our voices are united, we can hold people accountable and deliver real results.”
In an email to AL.com Friday, USPS representatives said they had no further information on Akron’s office reopening but would prepare a news release when they did.
