Aripeka residents are proud of their town of 308 people and they were proud of their post office.

The post office closed after a leasing dispute between the landlord and the United States Postal Service.

"The post office is more than just a place to get your mail. It's a place to go mail things, a place to go meet your neighbors and socialize," said resident Carl Norfleet.

The postal service does not provide home delivery to the area so residents are having to drive to a post office in Hudson to get their mail.

They said it's seven miles away and it's a hardship.

More than 80 people attended a meeting with postal officials to talk about the closure.

"We never should have been without service," said Julia Collins. "It should have just fallen into place and it never did."

Postal officials said they are looking for options like a different location for the post office. They are also considering putting up community mailboxes or starting home delivery.

"We never expected that we weren't going to be in Aripeka. We are doing everything we can to provide service to this community," said Enola Rice, a USPS spokesperson.

Resident Carl Norfleet says he's willing to buy the building from the current owner and lease is back to the post office.

"I know everybody in this room and I've known them for a long time," said Norfleet. "I operated the store in town for a long time so most of the money I've made came from that store and they're the ones who spent the money that made my money that I'm going to spend on this so it's their money, too, I guess."

Postal officials said they would talk to Norfleet about his proposal and they will continue looking at other options.