A roof repair job at the Astoria post office has sparked concern among employees that the federal government isn’t protecting the integrity of the historic building.

The city of Astoria has received several complaints about the work, but according to Community Development Director Rosemary Johnson, the city can’t do anything about it because it has no jurisdiction over the federal building at Eighth and Commercial streets.

In the process of replacing sections of the leaking roof, Umpqua Roofing of Eugene has removed parts of the original copper parapet that lines the perimeter of the upper roof ledge – and plans to sell it as salvage material. The copper was under another layer of roofing material that was also removed.

Johnson said most work on commercial buildings in Astoria requires a building permit – even repairs. But the Astoria post office, which is on the National Historic Building register because it is the first post office built west of the Rocky Mountains, is exempt from the local review process.

“Normally you’d have to do a historic review with any exterior alteration to a historic property, and if you’re changing the design or materials, that has to go through the Historic Landmarks Commission for approval,” said Johnson. “The building is on the National Historic Building register, but it’s a federal building on federal property.”

According to U.S. Postal Service officials, the work wasn’t required to go through Oregon’s State Historical Preservation Office review process also because it won’t be visible from the street level.

David Long, a maintenance custodian at the post office since 1991, said some parts of the roof have been in need of repair for several years, but the work that’s being done is beyond what is needed and is “ruining the integrity of the roof.”

“Underneath the mineral roofing was all solid copper,” said Long, who said he has the original specifications that went into the building and worked in construction for 20 years as a general contractor. “There’s no reason to tear all that copper out of there. All they had to do was put the mineral in there on top.”

Long said there may have been “a little bit of leakage in it way before I ever worked there, but I’ve never had a problem with the parapet drainage or leaks the entire time I’ve been there.”

Jim Alvord, Astoria postmaster, said the decision to replace the roof wasn’t his. The job was put out for bid before he took over as postmaster in March.

In order to make the repairs, Alvord said, the copper parapet on the perimeter had to be removed. It wasn’t replaced because it would have made it difficult to install the new material, he said. However, he said, the work will not change the building’s outward appearance.

“None of the work they’re doing right now should be visible,” Alvord said. “As long as it’s not a visible part of the facade or structure, we can use modern materials when you have to do a replacement.”

Kerry Jeffrey, customer relations coordinator for the U.S. Postal Service in Portland, said the federal agency is careful to comply with Oregon’s State Historical Preservation Office guidelines for conducting work on historic buildings, but because the copper wasn’t a visible part of the building, the work falls under the state’s regulations.

“The rules state that it can’t be changed if it’s a visible piece of the architecture from the street level,” said Jeffrey. “This work didn’t fall under the guidelines that they even had to notify SHPO.”

In the past, Jeffrey said, USPS has paid premium costs to ensure new windows and paint met the state’s guidelines and preserved the look of the building.

“We make a lot of efforts to maintain the look of the building and preserve it as long as we can,” he said.

The modern roofing material that replaced the copper and older roof material “will help preserve the building,” Jeffrey said.

Long said it’s not the first incidence he’s seen of the post office management’s disregard for the building’s historic value, and he’s upset that his complaints haven’t been acted upon.

“They tore all this copper out, and the post office’s position is ‘it’s out of sight so it doesn’t make a difference,'” he said. “That copper was put in there for a specific reason. We live here on the coast. … Our poor post office gets chipped away and chipped away, and eventually I’m afraid it will get to the point where it will be unmaintainable.”