BY PAUL BARTON
Enquirer Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Postal Service is giving "serious consideration" to keeping its Cincinnati processing facility in the city, according to Postmaster General Marvin Runyon.
Cincinnati is pushing a site at the Institute of Advanced Manufacturing in Bond Hill.
The postal service agency has outgrown its facility on Dalton Avenue in the West End and is looking for another site within the Interstate 275 beltway.
A $60 million annual payroll and 2,200 jobs are at stake.
Mr. Runyon listed the site in a May 1 letter to Rep. Steve Chabot, R-Cincinnati.
"The site is currently under serious consideration and, along with others, undergoing environmental investigations, siting alternatives and other design evaluations," Mr. Runyon said in his first statement on the relocation options.
Mr. Chabot, Mayor Roxanne Qualls and other local officials have been lobbying the Postal Service to maintain a processing facility within the city limits of Cincinnati.
Mr. Runyon said he anticipates that additional studies about the feasibility of the city's site will be received for a possible decision within the next 90 days.
"I think it's encouraging that the Postal Service considers Cincinnati a strong contender for the new facility," said Chabot aide Gary Lindgren.
Based on previous correspondence from the Postal Service, some Cincinnati officials had expected a decision by now, but agency officials told Mr. Chabot's staff their time table was never set in stone.
The city's proposal has access to highways, but its topography isn't perfectly suited for the type of building the Postal Service wants.
Sharonville and Lockland submitted proposals. Tri-County Economic Development Corp., Northern Kentucky's development agency, also submitted a proposal.
