MOYIE SPRINGS — The new Moyie Springs post office is providing locals with the convenience they’re used to when dealing with their postal needs — and for Moyie Springs resident Rose Scarberry, that means she won’t have to lose any quality time with her poodle, Lulu Bell.

“It would take an hour of my time to get to the post office in Bonners,” Scarberry said. “Any little thing we do is a benefit if we can do it here.”

The move from the original location at 3197 Roosevelt Road to the new location just down the road at 3369 Roosevelt Road — right next to City Hall — had been in the works for several years, said Moyie Springs City Clerk Donna Wilson-Funkhouser. The land for the new post office was donated by the Idaho Forest Group, which owns a wood processing mill in Moyie Springs.

Without that donation, Moyie Springs would have had to go without a local post office.

“They gave it to the city, and then the city is leasing it to the post office,” Wilson-Funkhouser said. “It kept the post office in Moyie Springs.”

The community is already taking advantage of the new location, she said.

“I think word has gotten out,” Wilson-Funkhouser said.

In addition to the convenience of staying in town for Moyie Springs residents, the move created more affordable housing in the community. The old post office was purchased by Capitol Success Property Management and repurposed as an affordable housing unit.

“The old post office has been converted into a residential unit as well and is now rented to a family,” said Jim Ball, who owns Capitol Success along with his wife, Brenda.

Ball saw the old post office as a chance to continue his company’s mission.

“Over time, we’ve been blessed with the opportunity to create affordable units through different means,” Ball said. “That’s turned into something that’s really helped with our local industry, tree farms, mills, stores and regular jobs — so it just really helps the community.”

As Scarberry filled out a change-of-address form at the new post office with Lulu Bell nipping at her heels, she summarized why keeping the post office local is a pretty big deal.

“It just makes things easier,” she said.