This Wednesday, Aug. 15 might be a nightmare for Boothbay Harbor postmaster Lesley Blethen and her stalwart crew, not to mention the postal customers. That is when about 300 or so East Boothbay Post Office customers will arrive at her door.

For more than 50 years, natives and summer folk customers picked up their mail at an old riverside building or another building across the street. Then last week, the U.S. Postal Service notified customers it would suspend service at the East Boothbay office on Aug. 15.

A note distributed to EBB customers said the suspension is due to health, safety and structural issues identified in the building. The note was signed by Donald Chasteen, identified only as manager of post office operations.

The postal service leases the building from Dan Miller, owner of Ocean Point Marina and Lobsterman’s Wharf. Miller said he checked the building and didn’t see a problem, but he asked Dan Feeney, the Boothbay code enforcement officer, to inspect the structure. That inspection was last week. Miller said the code officer promised to give him a report the week of Aug. 13.

Using bureaucratic lingo, Donald Chasteen’s note said the suspension is “not tantamount to discontinuance action ... and will give management the ability to evaluate potential solutions. After review of potential solutions, should discontinuance of the facility be pursued, we will notify customers by posting information about closing pursuant to Postal Service Handbook PO-101."

Does this mean the end of the East Boothbay Post office?

Here is what the postal officials said: "Please note, however, that the Postal Service has not made a final decision to permanently discontinue the East Boothbay Post Office, and should any such decision be made in the future, the Postal Service will solicit feedback from customers on any potential discontinuance actions.”

I wonder, is that a definite maybe?

So, EBB postal customers, in case you missed the memo, you will have to go to the Boothbay Harbor post office to retrieve your bills, flyers, political junk, notes seeking money, the occasional real letter, and presents from Amazon.

There will be no change for home delivery customers.

Here is how it will work. Go to the Harbor post office and present your EBB PO box key to the nice staff, and they will give you another one. They will direct you to a line of PO boxes in the lobby, where you will find your new box.

Note: They say you will keep your old address.

While the the postal officials admit “discontinuance of the facility” is an “inconvenience,” we face a pair of multi-million dollar projects that will be more than an inconvenience. Both will present major change for us all. They involve the Boothbay Harbor schools and the Southport Bridge.

First on the list is the $89 million dilemma facing the Boothbay Harbor School Committee, the Board of Trustees, the school administration, and the taxpayers.
For the last four years, the various school boards, administrators and planners have tried to figure out what they should do with the local school buildings that have served our community since the early 1950s.

Last week, the combined school committees voted to ask the taxpayers to approve an $89 million bond package to tear down and replace the high school building. It would also fund major repairs to the elementary school building and put up a maintenance building to house services and supplies. School officials say interested donors have pledged about $2 million to help with the cost. Other fundraising efforts are continuing.

There are compelling reasons for and against the project, its scope, and its cost. All will be explored and argued in the days before the Nov. 7 election. In the end, it is up to the taxpayers to make the final decision that may determine the fate of our community and how we educate our precious children.

The second “inconvenience” surfaced when Maine Department of Transportation told local officials they have contracted with Cianbro to rehab the Southport Bridge this fall. The price tag? How about $20.9 million? Of course, they need to fix or replace that old swinging bridge. It has served the public since 1939. From the info sent to local officials, it looks like they plan to replace everything except the osprey nest on the top of the center section.

You can read additional details about the MaineDOT proposal in Bill Pearson’s story on other pages of The Boothbay Register/Wiscasset Newspaper.

As the bridge is the only link between the mainland and Southport Island, officials and the public, wonder how it will be managed, and how access will be maintained. More on this project in weeks to come.