A temporary post office solution has stretched into a six-month inconvenience for Cedar Key.
Residents have been relying on a mobile mail truck since Hurricane Debby flooded the post office in August. Residents initially welcomed the solution with understanding, but frustration has grown as months pass with no progress on restoring the building.
The building sits in a flood-prone area, according to Federal Emergency Management Agency flood zone maps. Residents have expressed concerns about its suitability as a post office, claiming that it has flooded before.
“This is not the first rodeo,” Cedar Key Mayor Sue Colson said. “Every time there is a storm, they get water, so it’s not a good place for a post office.”
A similar situation occurred in 2016, when the post office closed due to water damage and mold after Hurricane Hermine. A mobile truck unit opened in the parking lot during that time as well.
Despite the damage, residents say the building owner has not taken steps to repair the property.
Hudson Food Stores has owned the 53-year-old building for at least 15 years, according to Levy County Property Records. The company is a family-operated business that owns several retail locations across north central Florida.
Cedar Key resident Tom Higgins expressed frustration over the owner’s lack of urgency.
“The inaction on the part of the post office themselves and on the part of the guy that owns the building is my biggest complaint,” Higgins said.
Hudson Food Stores President Whitney Smith did not return several requests for comment.
While the mobile truck has provided a temporary solution for postal needs, patience is wearing thin.
“Right after the storm, everyone understands the fact that things are going to be harsh,” Colson said. “But after five or six months, it’s intolerable.”
The recent hurricane season also wiped out several businesses and essential services, including the town’s grocery store.
Andrea Dennison has also raised concerns about the town’s elderly population. Cedar Key’s median population age is 68, according to the U.S. Census.
The mail challenges are particularly significant for these residents, who rely on the post office for medication deliveries.
“Think about an elderly person,” Dennison said. “They get their medicines delivered to the post office, they could go down there, and it could be closed for lunch or pouring rain.”
To purchase stamps or mail anything larger than an envelope, residents must travel 30 minutes to Chiefland, which might not be an option for the elderly population.
In addition to frustrations with limited mail services, residents are sympathetic toward the employees who operate the mobile truck unit. “It’s an inconvenience to us, but it’s an even bigger inconvenience to our postman,” Resident Eileen Senecal said.
Whether it’s hot, cold, or pouring rain, employees must transfer mail from the Chiefland post office to the outdoor tent setup in Cedar Key.
“It’s inefficient for our city employees,” Colson said. “They have to take this truck back and forth, back and forth to load and unload the packages.”
With hurricane season again looming, some fear the town will be left in the same predicament after the next major storm. U.S. Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Gainesville, whose district includes Cedar Key, has been helping the community find a new home for the post office. Cammack has sent staff to scout potential new locations, according to Colson.
Cammack was unavailable for interview, but her deputy chief for communications and operations, Adeline Sandridge, responded to questions in an email.
Cammack’s staff has garnered community input regarding potential new sites for the post office and has been in contact with the U.S. Postal Service regarding next steps, according to Sandridge.
“We’re exploring every possible avenue at this time and working to identify solutions that will work for all community members,” Sandridge said.
For residents like Senecal, restoring the post office is just one step in the town’s recovery.
“If we had the post office, it’d be one more normal thing back like it’s supposed to be,” she said.