by Kevin W. Smith
Islands’ Sounder Correspondent
The fate of the Deer Harbor Post Office is weeks away, as community members struggle to raise the needed funds to save a service that has existed in the area since 1893.
The Deer Harbor Community Club is trying to purchase the building that houses the post office from owners Wyndham Vacation Ownership.
Service at the building was set to stop in February 2010, when the lease expired, following a disagreement in lease terms between Wyndham Vacation Ownership and the United States Post Office.
The news sparked Deer Harbor community members to form a group called “Save The Deer Harbor Post Office” and seek alternative ways to keep a working post office in the area.
In May, Wyndham Vacation Ownership offered to sell the post office building to the non-profit Deer Harbor Community Club — which agreed to take on the effort on behalf of Save The Deer Harbor Post Office.
The price of the building has been estimated at $250,000 by the Deer Harbor Community Club, who said the closing date for the sale is July 8.
Liz Hutchinson, a spokesperson for Wyndham Vacation Ownership, would not confirm the sale price.
According to a post on Save The Deer Harbor Post Office’s blog, dhpo.blogspot.com, so far community members have donated around $93,000, but much more is needed.
“We’re in fundraising mode right now,” Sheila Gaquin, a member of Save The Deer Harbor Post Office, said.
In addition to public donations, the community club is hoping to cover the costs of the building’s price through sources such as loans.
Erik Smith, treasurer for the Deer Harbor Community Club, said fundraising has been going very well so far, but remained cautious.
“We still have a ways to go,” he said.
The community club figures it can repay any loans it takes out through a combination of income such as rent and maintenance paid for by the US Postal Service’s use of the building.
Another posting on the blog said the group had secured a commitment from the US Postal Service to enter into a lease with the community.
The Deer Harbor Community Club is proposing a 10-year lease for the building with the US Postal Service, beginning in February.
Ernie Swanson, corporate communications specialist for the postal service in Seattle, said that if the club purchases the building from Wyndham, it would likely be able to continue operating as a post office.
“I would assume, but I can’t guarantee,” he said.
The Deer Harbor Post Office serves dozens of local business owners, hundreds of box holders, as well as nearby residents of Crane and Waldron.
If the Deer Harbor Community Club cannot raise the $250,000 needed to purchase the building, locals will have to resort to other methods like home delivery and transferring their boxes to another facility, Swanson said.
In that scenario, the money donated from residents to purchase the post office building would be refunded.
Right now, however, Deer Harbor residents aren’t considering failure.
“The post office is the crossroads of the community,” Gaquin said. “We are all real optimistic people.”
If you would like to donate to save the Deer Harbor post office, send contributions to Deer Harbor Community Club, P.O. Box 57, Deer Harbor, WA 98243.
