Unsafe building, unsafe property: Mid-December storm damages Monument Valley PO

OOLJÉÉ’TÓ-TSÉBII’NDZISGAII, Utah

When strong winds damaged the post office in mid-December, it closed indefinitely, delaying mail for a few days.

Gerald Cly, postmaster of the Monument Valley Post Office in Gouldings, Utah, assessed the property after the storm, seeing several hazards and structural damage.

Now many residents want a brand-new post office with asphalt paving so the property can be long-lasting.

Amy Guthmiller, a resident, said the post office is an unsafe building situated on an unsafe property.

The post office is an added-on trailer tucked into the base of a russet-colored monument. Inside, postal boxes cover two walls, and a bulletin board hangs beside the door.

It also has window service. And the American flag doesn’t fly outside the building as it should because there is no flagpole.

“When you go in there in the winter, it’s cold,” said Guthmiller, who receives her mail at the post office. “In the summer, it’s blazing hot.”

She said the post office, which didn’t always have a box gable roof until recently, is not only an outmoded building with inadequate ventilation and access and egress facilities, but it also needs several things, such as high-speed internet and a heating and cooling system.

Old West post office

The post office here wasn’t in better shape than before the storm, said Guthmiller. It was mediocre and it had a flat roof before the box gable and the color scheme of red, white and blue.

“The porch, when you walk in the front, it was already unstable and not safe,” she said. “Since (the storm further damaged the building), you can’t even use the steps.

“The wooden handrails are unsecure,” she said. “And when you walk inside the building, there are missing tiles.”

But Cly works with what he has and tries his best to maintain a clean and sanitary post office amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“The floor’s always mopped and the (service) counter’s always wiped down, and his work area’s always clean,” Guthmiller said. “His bulletin board is always up to date and there’s not a lot of junk on there. He lists all of the community events.

“Since the (storm), when you walk in there now, you can literally feel the slant of the building,” she said. “If it was an OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) thing, I think (it) would shut it down. That’s how dangerous it is.”

Usually, unsafe conditions are abated by repair, demolition or removal or made safe. But that isn’t the case for this post office, located on private property, on North 5th Street.

Many of the postal box users are Diné.

“It’s open,” Guthmiller said. “We can’t use the steps because the steps are still in disrepair, but nothing’s been done – absolutely nothing. People just park wherever they want, go up the ramp and get their mail. It seems to be business as usual.

“People complain all the time and there’s always conversation with the locals about the post office and that people need to do something: ‘We need to get this fixed,’” she added.

“But nobody does anything,” she said. “If it rains or snows up here and somebody has to go up that ramp, something’s going to happen, and somebody’s going to slip and fall and it’s going to be a lawsuit.”

What’s next?

Guthmiller on Dec. 17 wrote an email to President Jonathan Nez and to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy of the U.S. Postal Service informing them of the structural damage situation here.

She wrote: “There is plenty of room to put a secure brick building with proper windows and ventilation, (and) a paved, properly marked parking lot and new signage.

“This building, ramp, steps, and dirt parking lot are not safe for our postmaster, Mr. Gerald Cly, (nor) the residents of Monument Valley.”

Nez said he reached out to PaaWee Rivera, senior advisor for intergovernmental affairs and director of tribal affairs at the White House.

Rivera said he tracked down David P. Rouse, realty asset manager for the U.S. Postal Service, who Nez could talk to about the structural damage.

Nez said his staff at the Navajo Nation Washington Office would talk to Rouse.

“Unfortunately, my expectations have not been met as there is not a plan of action or resolution to this issue,” Guthmiller told Nez.

Social center

The post office isn’t just for mail service, it’s also a social hub where news and gossip are exchanged and where one can get water nearby, said Guthmiller.

Often, you will see a truck pull up to the water-loading station. An entire family would unload, and the children would play around the truck, and one of the children usually has a basketball.

While some people may not be fazed by the situation here, many residents here want a modern post office “like the ones in cities,” a flagpole, and perhaps Amazon lockers, self-service package delivery service of parcel lockers, so Cly doesn’t have to lift heavy orange bags containing only packages from Amazon.

“I think that’ll be ideal,” Guthmiller said. “And if we could (get the area) paved, where the community gets water, that would be a godsend. Any type of improvement would be welcomed.”

She added: “But if we get another storm like that, even half of what (the December one) was, I don’t know if that building will make it.”

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