State of Vermont Senate Chamber Montpelier, Vermont Joint Senate Resolution By Senators Cummings, Perchlik, and Watson,
J.R.S. 41. Joint resolution requesting that the U.S. Postal Service reestablish, as rapidly as
possible, a full-service U.S. Post Office in downtown Montpelier.
Whereas, as the Vermont State capital, the seat of Washington County, and an important commercial hub in central Vermont, the City of Montpelier’s daily U.S. Mail service is
extremely important, and Whereas, the municipality of Montpelier has hosted a U.S. Post Office since 1798, and the historic State Street location dates from 1891, and Whereas, on July 10 and 11, 2023, Montpelier experienced a devastating flood, and one of the most unfortunate consequences was the immediate closure of the U.S. Post Office, leaving the municipality bereft of this essential public service, and Whereas, initial plans for a limited U.S. postal facility proved unworkable, and eventually,
trucks, primarily offering a pickup point for postal box renters, were stationed in a parking lot on
River Street, a site far from downtown Montpelier that is not easily accessible to public transit customers or pedestrians, and Whereas, because these trucks had neither heat nor electricity, this temporary, and wholly inadequate, arrangement ended on Friday, November 17, 2023, and Whereas, on Monday, January 8, 2024, a rally was conducted in front of the shuttered Montpelier U.S. Post Office that featured remarks from U.S. Senator Peter Welch, U.S.
Representative Becca Balint, and a senior member of U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders’s staff, each of whom implored U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy to remediate, immediately, this untenable situation, and Whereas, the lack of a full-service U.S. Post Office in downtown Montpelier is extremely inconvenient for the citizens, businesses, and governmental offices located in the State’s capital city, now therefore be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly requests that the U.S. Postal Service reestablish, as rapidly as
possible, a full-service U.S. Post Office in downtown Montpelier, and be it further Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of this resolution to
President Joseph R. Biden, U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, and the members of the Vermont Congressional Delegation.
VT LEG #373898 v.1