ROYSE CITY — For more than a century, Royse City was a sleepy Texas town. It was another stop along a long rail road line.
"I wish it would stay the same, but that's me personally," said Brenda Lamberth, a woman whose worked in town for more than a decade.
She's talking about all the development. In the last 10 years, her town has grown tremendously.
Main Street has stayed the same and that's by design. But the post office, the one by the railroad tracks, hasn't changed much at all, and many say it's in desperate need of an upgrade.
"We have absolutely no control over what the postal service does as far as building a new facility or not building a new facility," said Larry Lott, the director of the Economic Development Corporation.
Lott points to the numbers. As measured by the 2000 census, Royce City had a population of about 2,900. Today, that number is closer to 12,000.
"I think that is very substantial percentage wise," Lott said. "That's getting a little bit of 20 percent a year growth and that's substantial."
As for the post office, its stayed essentially the same and continues to service the entire 75189 zip code. That's a lot for an office originally intended to service 14 rural routes.
"Growth not only in the city, but outside the city I think has really put a strain on the post office," Lott said.
A representative for The Unites States Postal Service says there are no current plans to build a new facility but say they're working to address growth.
They also point to a 4,000-square-foot expansion in the parking lot added in 2007.
"The Postal Service is currently evaluating the possibility of adding another modular building to expand space for delivery operations" said Robert Bolen, a spokesman with USPS, in a statement.