Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Space and budget limits
hinder Mililani post officeQuestion: What can be done regarding the long lines at the Mililani Post Office? I usually go there after 3 p.m., and I have to wait nearly 20 minutes before I reach the window. When I get out the door, there are more than 10 cars waiting to find parking. This is a new post office. Someone should've made a study before putting in three measly windows. Also, it doesn't help when one postal worker can't handle packages over 10 pounds.
Answer: At this point, there is little that can be done to expand parking or the facility, although an official with the Mililani Town Association said the community is still lobbying for a full-service post office.
The Postal Service never intended for the public to go to the current "station" -- a step lower than a post "office" -- at Kamehameha Highway and Meheula Parkway, according to U.S. Postal Service spokeswoman Felice Broglio. The original plan was to use that site as a carrier annex and to build a retail station in Mililani Town Center.
Broglio said the Wahiawa Post Office remains the main post office for Wahiawa and Mililani. Initially, carriers for Mililani worked out of Wahiawa, but that became "inefficient" as Mililani grew over the past two decades, so plans were made to build a separate carrier facility in Mililani.
At the same time, it became evident that a previous small contract postal station in Mililani Shopping Center was inadequate to serve the growing community.
Putting postal stations in shopping malls is "the way it's being done in the newer facilities across the United States," Broglio noted. But she said overwhelming opposition from the Mililani Town Association, neighborhood board and area legislators killed plans to build a postal station at Mililani Town Center.
"That led to a last-minute change to include the retail operation in the carrier annex," which was not designed for retail operations or to accommodate public use and parking, she said. Because of budget cuts, "Today, there is no funding available to change this."
Calvin Maeda, general manager of the Mililani Town Association, gave a different version of the situation, saying the community's intent for years was to have a full-service post office on the site of the current postal station.
After the state agreed to give land to the federal government for a post office, the association agreed to deed over a portion of its common area as an easement for the facility, he said. But a few years after that, Maeda said residents were surprised to discover the postal service was planning to build a "storage area" instead. Also, he said community representatives rejected the plan to build a postal station in Mililani Town Center because it would have been too small.
"We said 'no' because the whole purpose of this was to build a Mililani Post Office to accommodate the population of Mililani," he said. "We were going back and forth" over what should be built.
Maeda said the understanding is that, eventually, when funds become available, a full-service post office will develop at the current site.
Meanwhile, the Mililani station manager has tried to accommodate the crowds by opening a makeshift window, when possible, Broglio said. Also, because Mililani has a postal merchandise store, most transactions except for packages are often handled by the clerk assigned to the store, she said.
Regarding the clerk who can't handle 10-pound packages (now 15 pounds), Broglio said that person is a "limited duty clerk" who normally is assigned to the postal store, where there is no heavy lifting involved, but sometimes is used as a relief person at a regular window.
She apologized for the delays, which she acknowledges occurs during peak customer times: early morning, lunchtime and late afternoon. If at all possible, she advises people to go between 9:30-11 a.m. and 1:30-3 p.m.
Other options for all postal customers is to buy stamps away from the post office. Stamps are sold at face value at Safeway, Foodland, 7-Eleven and Tesoro, Broglio said, as well as via vending machines at Wal-Mart and Longs.
Also, customers can order stamps by calling 800-24-STAMP (78267) and asking for a "stamps by mail" form, or by asking mail carriers for the form. In the latter case, you just fill out the form, give it to your carrier with a check and you'll receive the stamps by mail, Broglio said.
Auwe
Why did they plant the kind of trees they did on Pali Highway and School Street? That kind of tree has roots that grow close to the surface and lifts up the asphalt. A few months ago, they finished repairing the road and curbing in Mililani, along Lanikuhana Avenue, because of the trees. Are the people responsible not thinking? -- Concerned Person Not Minding His Own Business(City parks officials maintain the trees will not pose such a problem -- or, at least, that they've taken steps to make sure the roots are kept in check.
("Before the monkeypod trees were planted along Pali Highway, a root barrier was installed to prevent the curbing and asphalt road surface from lifting," according to William Balfour, director of the Department of Parks and Recreation.
(He said once the planting project is completed, it will be turned over to the state for maintenance. Meanwhile, he said the city recently completed a root pruning job in Mililani and ostensibly, that should handle the root problem in that area. A variety of trees are planted in Mililani, including tacoma, crepe myrtal and monkeypod.)
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