Dalton to purchase borough post office

DALTON — The borough will purchase the building housing the community’s small but busy post office, ensuring that the post office will continue to serve local residents.

Council members in March agreed to purchase the building at 101 W. Main St. for $55,000, closing on the sale in late June.

LOOXAHOMA LLC of Mississippi, the building’s owner since 2019, informed officials a year ago about their intent to sell the building. Council members and solicitor Frank Bolock have been in touch with representatives of the owner for a year about purchasing the building. Bolock said the representatives informed officials they were looking to move on to other developments.

A post office has been in the borough since the 1920s but the current building was constructed in 1975 by developers Richard and Nancy Dunphey, he said. Although Dalton has never owned a post office building, the post office sits on land owned by the borough since 1945, Bolock said.

Rhett Armistead, attorney for LOOXAHOMA LLC, said he had no comment on the sale.

The post office’s lease, which expires in 2030, will transfer to the borough with the purchase, Bolock said, adding officials have been discussing extending the lease with the post office.

He said officials chose to purchase the building, which sits next to the Municipal Building, with the intent of keeping the post office in the borough. The one-story brick building, with a loading dock at the back and parking on the side, processes and delivers mail for postal customers in Dalton and multiple surrounding municipalities.

“The location is convenient,” Bolock said. “People like it. A lot of mail moves through there.”

Postal clerk Kathy Sponenberg said the community is proud of its post office. One resident has had a box with the post office for more than 100 years.

“I like this post office and the people,” she said. “They are very nice.”