Mayor criticizes prolonged post-office closure, slow inspections and a tattered flag at local post office

Tyrone’s mayor used council time to criticize delays in reopening the local post office following a March 2023 fire, saying inspections and communications from the U.S. Postal Service have been slow and that the town — and thereby taxpayers — have paid rent on an unused building for an extended period.

"That building has been pretty much ready," the mayor said, noting she has pressed the district director and the congressman’s office for correspondence. "The taxpayers have paid rent to that lady for 3 years without that post office being used, and that is absolutely... hideous," she said, expressing frustration at what she called poor communication and slow follow-up on inspections.

The mayor also described a failure in the inspection process that delayed progress, recounting an instance in which an inspection was failed for lack of men/women signs on bathroom doors and said it took months before another inspection was scheduled. Council members asked whether the congressman had raised the staffing or postmaster issue; the mayor said the congressman had not focused heavily on staffing but had raised the issue with federal contacts.

Separately, the mayor reported complaints about a tattered flag at the post office and said citizens had replaced it; she said she had contacted the congressman’s office and other federal contacts and asked staff to continue pursuing correspondence to get a clearer timeline for reopening. Council did not take formal action but the mayor said she has asked for copies of correspondence from the congressman and district director and will continue to press the issue.