Decision expected soon on return of Rolling Meadows post office
A year after Rolling Meadows officials launched a campaign to bring back a local post office, they are expected to learn in the next few weeks whether their efforts were a success.
A group of city officials met with four members of the U.S. Postal Service's Great Lakes-area division this month in hopes of persuading them to reopen at least a substation in downtown Rolling Meadows.
"After a year and lots of phone calls and emails, at least they came to us," said Mayor Len Prejna, who sent letters to the postmaster general and local congressional representatives as part of the lobbying effort.
The postal service's formal response last month was no, but U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg was then able to secure the in-person meeting with Great Lakes-area managers.
"Washington came to Rolling Meadows," Prejna said.
The full-service post office at 3266 Kirchoff Road closed in May 2012 because of a lease dispute between the former owner of the Rolling Meadows Shopping Center and the postal service. Since then, residents have complained of long lines and crowded parking lots at the nearby post offices in Arlington Heights and Palatine.
Dave Whitney, vice chairman of the city's planning and zoning commission, led a petition drive that yielded 1,000 signatures in favor of bringing back a local post office.
Whitney, who attended the meeting with postal service officials, said they indicated they've had few complaints about service since the closure.
"I asked if they wanted 1,000 people who signed the petition to call to complain or the people who post on Yelp," Whitney said. "I think we made a pretty good case."
Prejna and Whitney - both candidates in a four-person race for mayor this April - attended the meeting with Alderman Nick Budmats, City Manager Barry Krumstok and Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Linda Ballantine.
Whitney said a formal, written decision is expected in the next three to four weeks.