NEGRIL, Westmoreland — Renovation of the decrepit Negril Post Office is scheduled to get underway on Thursday, following Monday’s handing over of the site to the contractor.

“The building will be renovated, and within the next three months we should see the… completion of this project, and operation will begin shortly after,” Councillor Arthel Colley (People’s National Party, Negril Division) told the Jamaica Observer Monday following a site visit by officials.

The group also included representatives from the Post and Telecommunications Department; the Negril and Green Island Area Local Planning Authority (NGIALPA); Negril Chamber of Commerce; members of the Negril community; and Wayne Vacciana, who represented Member of Parliament (MP) for Westmoreland Western Ian Hayles.

The meeting was an opportunity to discuss overall plans and introduce all stakeholders, including the contractor, to each other.

The scope of work includes a complete renovation of the facility — including doors, tiles, plumbing, electrical, windows — and gutting of the falling concrete roof. The building has been closed for renovation for about three years despite repeated appeals from the councillor and MP.

“I’m indeed pleased with what’s happening here today because this is to the benefit of the citizens of Negril, as also it will benefit the tourists that come to Negril because we know that the tourists use this post office to transact business. The citizens, especially the pensioners, will be grateful for the reopening of this new facility,” Councillor Colley noted.

Negril, Red Ground, Whitehall, and Good Hope are some of the communities that are expected to benefit from the completed project.

Colley explained the challenges staff and users of the facility faced in the past.

“The roof started to fall off to the point that it started to injure persons doing business at the post office. The letterboxes, all of them were damaged, and the whole outside and ambience weren’t looking good,” he explained.

The project is being overseen by NGIALPA, and the authority’s Physical Planner Mali Dickson spoke a bit about their role.

“The only concerns we had were the setback to the main road, but after having negotiations and an assessment we were able to make recommendations to have the letterbox at the front removed,” she said.

The section of the building that hosts the letterbox is approximately three feet from the road. However, for parochial roads, the setback should be 6.1 metres or 20.1 feet.

“With the letterbox gone, at least we’ll have more space as it is a parochial road and the restrictions would apply for the same,” explained Dickson.

Another issue of concern for the local planning authority is the creation of a parking space; but that is expected to be sorted out before construction ends.

Fallen concrete, from the slab roof, litter a side entrance of Negril Post Office.

Broken private letterboxes — some without doors — signal the need for the Negril Post Office to be repaired.