County urges lawmakers to keep Knoxville USPS facility open
The Anderson County Commission has voted to send a letter to members of the U.S. House of Representatives telling them not to close the United States Postal Service Weisgarber Distribution Center in Knox County.
The USPS recently proposed moving some of the Weisgarber Distribution Center processing operations to a location in Louisville, Kentucky.
The commission approved the letter at its Jan. 29 meeting. The letter from Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank addresses U.S. Reps. Tim Burchett R-Second District, Chuck Fleischmann R-Third District and Diana Harshbarger R-First District.
Frank listed two reasons to keep the post office open.
“First with the proposed closure, we see the potential increase in longer waiting periods that could be imposed upon citizens who receive or send important documents or packages (e.g. medicines etc.) via the U.S. Postal Service,” she stated. “Secondly, the proposed closure of the Knox County mail distribution facility could mean the loss of livelihoods for hundreds of local citizens and their families. That loss could trickle down to other areas as well.
“It’s like losing any other industry,” Frank said in an interview. “You want to keep that workforce here. You want to keep those jobs here.
“We would like to hang on to it here in East Tennessee and maybe there’s a way to partner or come up with a new idea to make that happen.”
Commissioner Tracy Wandell made the motion, and Commissioner Sabra Beauchamp seconded. All 15 members who were present voted aye, although Anderson Commissioner Michael Foster was not present.
Libraries
The Anderson County Commission voted 15-0 to send a measure regarding a new agreement for the county’s library system back to the Anderson County Operations Committee.
Commissioner Sabra Beauchamp said she would prefer to have information from Anderson County Mayor Terry Frank regarding the memorandum of understanding.
County Commissioner Phil Yager seconded.