WINDSOR—After two years of negotiating, Windsor Town Council and the U.S. Postal Service have reached an agreement on a lease for the post office.

“All it needs now is the Postal Service’s signature,” said Mayor Carita Richardson.

“There were three issues the parties had problems with,” Richardson added. “We believe those problems have now been ironed out.”

Town officials originally sought $24,000 a year for the building it purchased in 2004 or 2005. The Postal Service wanted to continue paying $18,000 a year.

“We felt we needed to increase the rent because of upcoming maintenance on the building,” she said. “But the Postal Service said a lack of funding would not allow an increase in the annual $18,000 rent it currently pays.”

Given the financial situation of the Postal Service, the town agreed to leave the rent as is, but did not extend the lease for the requested 10 years. Five years was agreed upon.

“The Postal Service is in the process of restructuring itself, making changes in its operations,” Richardson said. “After five years, if we see that the post office is a viable enterprise, we can renegotiate the lease.”

Safety was another concern.

“The post office building is located at a six-way intersection,” Richardson said. “Parking is limited on one side of the building and getting to the drop-box — which is on the other side and accessible from Route 460 — is dangerous. Customers driving from the west side of the highway have to cross three lanes of traffic to get there.”

Council came up with a way to correct this.

“We would relocate the drop box to be accessible from Church Street and convert the drop-box area into additional parking,” Richard said.

The new lease should be completed within the month. The current lease will be up at the end of May.