Nearly 1 year later, Herman post office remains closed
More than nine months after the last mail trucks left, the Herman post office, on Geibel Road in Summit Township, is still closed to the public due to damage from a pair of floods in April 2024.
This means that for nearly a year, residents of Summit Township who normally use the Herman post office have had to drive to the post office on Main Street in Butler, more than 5 miles away, to pick up their mail.
A U.S. Postal Service spokesperson said there is no definite timetable for the reopening of the Herman post office — the same message that was given in July 2024.
“We continue to work with the landlord on repairs,” said Mark Lawrence, strategic communications specialist for the U.S. Postal Service representing Western Pennsylvania. “There is currently no set timeline on a return to Herman.”
Butler County property records list the property as belonging to Anthony R. Schnur.
Roxann Stickney, secretary for Summit Township, says she has received complaints from residents who have had to drive out of their way to pick up their mail for nearly a year now.
“Residents have been calling us too, but the post office has not been communicating with us either,” Stickney said. “We have a lot of older residents, and I had one call the other day. She was older, and she was asking if I knew when it was going to be open because it was getting to be a burden for her to have to drive.”
Stickney says she recently reached out to the offices of both U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16th, and state Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th, to ask what they can do about the situation.
“I called Marci Mustello’s office, and they said that Mike Kelly’s office was working on it,” Stickney said.
“Rep. Kelly’s office remains in regular contact with officials at the U.S. Postal Service as the agency works to restore mail service at this location,” said Matthew Knoedler, a spokesperson for Kelly.
Stickney has criticized the U.S. Postal Service for its lack of communication with township government and citizens in the matter, saying the agency failed to even notify them the post office was closed in April.
“Nobody's been communicating with the township to keep us up to date on the progress of the reopening or relocation of the post office,” Stickney said. “None of us was notified that it was even closed. A resident called me and said the post office was closed.”
Another post office in Butler County, the Renfrew post office in Connoquenessing Township, was also forced to close for an extended period of time as a result of the April floods. As with Summit Township residents, those who had boxes at the Renfrew post office were forced to drive to Butler to pick up their mail.
However, the Renfrew post office reopened Sept. 3.
