The United States Postal Service (USPS) has begun the research process to add a new USPS-operated facility in Big Sky.
The Big Sky Post Office has been managed by Gallatin Partners since 2002 and was originally supposed to be a temporary facility.
Vice President of Gallatin Partners, Al Malinowski, told me in October that he had terminated the Post Office’s lease and planned to close without the support of USPS Corporate for a bigger facility. Malinowski extended the Post Office's Contract until May in hopes that USPS would have time to see the need for a bigger facility.
“It's nice to see that our patience with the process is paying off,” says Malinowski, “In the last three to five years, not having a long-term plan became very difficult.”
USPS released a statement last week stating, "The proposed project includes finding a suitable location, preparing it for use as a Post Office, and transitioning operations from the current contractor-operated facility to the new postal-operated facility."
Malinowski says, “We certainly thought that could be a potential. I mean, when we took this over years ago, we saw it as our community group, that would be a likely outcome.”
Corporate Communications at USPS told MTN News the Postal Service is looking for a new location because the lease at the current location is expiring in May.
“USPS has decided to really look into what the best long-term solution is for our community," says Malinowski. “It was encouraging. I'm glad to hear that they're looking into potentially a USPS-run post office.”
Malinowski’s hope is for the Postal Service to support the idea of moving into the larger building next door to the current facility and that having a USPS operated Post Office will improve levels of service for the community as well as expand the focus area to the Canyon Area of Big Sky.
Malinowski and Gallatin Partners were not alone in these discussions with USPS to move to a more well-suited facility. He emphasizes that without the help of the BSRAD board, Big Sky Chamber, County Commissioners, and several legislative leaders, the Post Office would not have gotten to this point.
USPS is still in the early stages of research and planning, and there is no anticipated date or final approval for the new facility to be operational.
