The U.S. Postal Service announced Monday that the Akron Post Office will permanently close Oct. 31 due to non-renewal of the lease, days after U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, demanded the facility reopen following its abrupt shutdown.
The announcement came after USPS closed the post office at 197 First Avenue South on Oct. 14, 16 days earlier than the Oct. 30 date the agency had announced to residents, according to Sewell.
Operations will move to the Moundville Post Office beginning Nov. 1, according to a news release from USPS.
In the interim, a mobile retail unit has been placed at the Akron location.
Customers can conduct transactions and pick up packages Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., the release said.
Post office box customers with proper identification may retrieve mail during the same hours.
Sewell responded to the announcement on Facebook Monday, stating that while she welcomed the mobile unit, her office has yet to receive a response to her letter demanding answers about the closure.
“I will continue demanding answers and fighting to ensure Akron residents have access to the postal services they depend on,” she wrote.
In a letter dated Oct. 16 to Postmaster General David Steiner and Senior Vice President Benjamin Kuo, Sewell said her office was informed that USPS chained the doors of the facility, began moving mail to Moundville and dismantled P.O. boxes.
Akron Mayor Christopher Rollins reported the closure to her office.
Sewell said the timing raised concerns about voters’ ability to receive and return absentee ballots before the Hale County deadline of Oct. 27, just weeks before the November midterm election.
The congresswoman disputed USPS’ claim that the lessor issued a notice requiring the agency to vacate the property by Oct. 30.
According to the letter, the lessor explicitly denied issuing such a notice.
Sewell’s office said it has documentation showing the lessor agreed in writing to maintain the rental rate established in August 2021 for an additional five years through 2031.
Sewell’s office received photographs showing the post office interior had been fully dismantled within 24 hours of the closure, including the removal of residents’ P.O. boxes, according to the letter.
USPS told her office the early closure was necessary to allow sufficient time to vacate the premises.
The letter stated that P.O. box holders received no instructions on how to retrieve their mail at the Moundville location, leaving residents uncertain about accessing essential correspondence including ballots, Social Security checks, medications and bills.
Sewell questioned whether the closure violates procedural requirements under 39 CFR § 241.3, which require advance public notice and community input before permanently discontinuing postal services.
The postal service previously said the closure was temporary before announcing Monday it would be permanent.
In her letter, Sewell requested USPS respond in writing by Oct. 19 and immediately reopen the Akron Post Office.
She also demanded explanations for the decision-making process behind the closure, a written copy of any notice to vacate, and documentation demonstrating compliance with federal regulations.
Sewell specifically requested details on actions being taken to ensure election mail present at the Akron Post Office on Oct. 14 is protected, processed and delivered to Hale County Absentee Election Manager Catrinna Perry.
Beginning Nov. 1, the Moundville Post Office at 259 Second Ave. will operate Monday through Friday for Akron customers from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The facility is closed Sunday.
