The Postal Service is proposing to close the Esom Hill Post Office and provide delivery and retail services by rural route service under the administrative responsibility of the Cedartown Post Office.

The postmaster retired on April 22, 2008 and the position remained vacant. Since that time, an Officer In Charge (OIC) has been on site to operate the office.

According to postal officials, the postmaster level and office service hours are determined by a workload analysis, which includes the number of deliveries and revenue.

The office is being studied for possible closing or consolidation due to the following reasons:

Esom Hill currently earns 1.4 hours per day and was downgraded to a level 55. The lease for the office expires in September 2012.

Based upon the outcome of a study, customers will either be served by rural delivery or by renting a PO Box at Cedartown, located about 10 miles away. The Cedartown office currently has 324 boxes available for rent.

Currently, Esom Hill Post Office is open from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday and 8 a.m. to 12 noon Saturday.

Meanwhile, members of the Polk County Board of Commissioners has received a request for a letter in support of efforts to stop the proposed closing. They have voted to send the letter to the Postal Service.

In the request, residents noted that the “post office is the heart of our community” and the impact felt will “create a financial burden on patrons for their postal needs.”

To help alleviate fears of customers and to inform the public, postal representatives held a meeting in the Esom Hill Fire Department to answer questions and educate patrons on what the process involves.

Postal officials have not announced that any other local post office is being considered for closure.

This includes offices in Cedartown, Rockmart, Aragon and Taylorsville. Indications are that these sites will remain open.

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Editor's note:The photo cutline has been edited to correct the identification of the post office building