The Post Office in Long Grove, Iowa is closed indefinitely, according to a sign posted on the building's doors on Friday.
Residents with mailboxes at their homes received a letter in the mail notifying them of the closing. However, anyone with a P.O. Box didn't find out about the issue until the weekend.
In the letter, the Post Office Operations manager, June Martindale, said the building was closed, "due to health and safety concerns." Anyone with a P.O. Box at the Long Grove location will now have to pick their mail up at the Northwest Station in Davenport at 4018 Marquette Street, which is 11.45 miles away. The letter indicated customers with rural delivery would not be impacted by this change and that cluster boxes will eventually be set up in town somewhere.
The letter also said a decision whether or not to close the building permanently had not been made yet.
City officials were not available for an interview on Saturday but the City Mayor said they were surprised by the closing and didn't know how long the building would be shut down. "It will be an inconvenience for us in the short term but I hope it will re-open soon," said Michael Limberg, Long Grove's Mayor.
Limberg said the building is not owned or maintained by the city.
WQAD reached out to the building's owner but they declined to comment on what the specific health and safety concerns were.
"It would have been nice to have some kind of notice, other than a piece of paper taped to a door at the post office," said Molly Osmun, a Long Grove resident with a P.O. Box. "Personally, I think it kinda sucks that I would have to drive all the way to Davenport."
"Some people probably won’t gather their mail on a daily basis because they’ll have to go all the way to Davenport," said Mike Oechsner, another Long Grove resident with a P.O. Box. "It’ll impact everybody. That’s quite a distance to get your mail, but it was also stated in the letter that it should be a temporary thing."
Long Grove residents will be able to speak to city officials about the issue at the next City Council meeting on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.