Hereford's new post office will likely be located at the township's fire company. Last week, three representatives from the United States Postal Service addressed the issue during a meeting at the company, located at 1153 Gravel Pike.

            David Wolff, a real estate specialist with the USPS, told approximately 30 residents that the USPS might be willing to convert a portion of the banquet hall they were occupying into a fully operational post office. During a 35-minute Dec. 11 meeting, Wolff said post office officials had scoured the township and found no other viable options.

            "This is an excellent building," said Wolff, who appeared with Derrick Strothers, a manager of post office operations in the Lehigh Valley and Denise Klavon, the postmaster in Hereford, Old Zionsville and Palm. "It has good bones and it's in a solid neighborhood. I think it's safer than the previous location."

            Since closing that location at 43 Star Road in March, post office officials have searched the municipality for another location, according to Wolff, who is based in Greensboro, N.C. He said agency officials need to pick a location inside the local zip code, as close to the previous post office as possible and covering at least 2,000 square feet.

            If approved by a three-person site selection committee, made up of any combination of an architect, finance director and district manager, the post office would agree to an initial five-year lease with the company. The final decision will be announced in four to six weeks. Residents may make any location suggestions during a current 30-day public comment period.

            After the meeting, Wolff envisioned the office utilizing 40 percent the room. He also said the agency might choose to spend several thousand dollars of postal funds redesigning the entrance and possibly add a second door for unloading freight.

            "This is the perfect place," Wolff said after the meeting. "There's plenty of parking and the visibility is good. This project could really help the community."

            Fire company officials favor the proposal to convert the banquet hall, which is rented out sporadically, according to Dean Marks, vice president of the company. He said the new post office would allow enough space for training and conducting hoagie sales.

            "We're ready when they are," Marks said after the meeting. "The more money we get from the post office, the less we have to raise."

            The post office closed its previous location at the intersection of Route 100 and Gravel Pike when its lease agreement with the property owner, Tamas Logic, Inc., a Massachusetts company, expired. After the meeting, Wolff explained that the landlord forced the office to close by looking for an excessive lease increase.

            "The landlord was being unreasonable," he said. "We never wanted to leave the township."

            The previous post office remained closed for several months following a fire on Christmas Day in 2016. A male juvenile was charged with arson on May 16, 2017. The boy, in his late teens, was charged after allegedly admitted to being responsible for starting the fire at the intersection of routes 29 and 100, according to a news release issued by the Pennsylvania State Police's Reading barracks.

            The juvenile was also charged with recklessly endangering another person and criminal mischief, according to the incident report. The post office suffered fire, smoke and water damage but, according to reports, no mail was damaged.  A firewall kept the fire from spreading to the market.

            Operations were shifted to the Palm and East Greenville post offices. Customers who have post office boxes in Hereford continue to pick up their mail at the Palm Post Office. Home delivery was eventually shifted to the Alburtis post office.