Area post offices face possible closure

Postal Service officials announced this week that they will be taking the next step in right-sizing their expansive retail network by conducting studies of certain offices to determine customer needs, according to a report.

Post offices in Mizpah and Birchdale are among the 88 facilities in Minnesota up for review. In addition, 28 offices in the state, including the store in Loman, are already in the review process.

Postal Service spokesman Peter Nowacki said that several factors were considered when placing an office on the study list.

“Offices that fell under a certain threshold were put out there for review,” he said.

Postal headquarters considered an office’s workload, the number of boxes rented, and the proximity of one post office to another, he said.

Nowacki acknowledged that in communities like Mizpah, Birchdale, and Loman, the nearest post office is several miles away.

“It’s hard to say,” he said of what options people would have should their local post office close. “We would gauge what kinds of service people need and how we can best provide them with that service.”

Nowacki said one potential replacement option could be Village Post Offices. These facilities would carry out common postal service functions and would potentially be offered in town halls, community buildings, or anywhere groups of people may gather.

“By working with third-party retailers, we’re creating easier, more convenient access to our products and services when and where our customers want them,” Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said in a statement. “The Village Post Office will offer another way for us to meet our customers’ needs.”

Koochiching County Commissioner Mike Hanson, who represents the Birchdale, Loman and, Mizpah areas said a Village Post Office “just wouldn’t be the same.”

“A post office is part of the fabric of the social life that goes on in a community,” Hanson said. “People count on it everyday for all their postal needs. I think we’re seeing part of American history slide by.”

Public meetings for comment on each post office in question will be established as details progress, Nowacki noted.

In the past four years, mail volume nationally has been declining steadily and has decreased by about 20 percent, Gail Francette, postmaster in Wrenshall, Minn., said at a meeting held in June regarding the possible closure of the Loman Post Office. She said that weakness in the economy and the rise in use of electronic communications can be to blame for the decline.

“It’s no secret that people aren’t mailing as much as they were 10-15 years ago,” Nowacki told The Journal Wednesday. “People are paying their bills online, sending wedding invitations on Facebook, as well as accessing us (postal service) in different ways. We have a website where we sell stamps and prepare packages.”

By 2020, Postal Service officials predict mail volume will be down to about 445 million pieces a day — almost half of what it was just five years ago, Francette said.

“We no longer need and cannot afford to operate the 32,000 postal buildings that we currently do,” she added. “Cuts have added up to the loss of about 100,000 jobs and about $10 billion in savings in the last three years. We need to identify any savings opportunities we can.”

Nowacki added that 35 percent of postal service revenue comes from sources other than walking into a physical post office. He said because of the decline in usage, some postal facilities are no longer necessary.

Operational cost figures for the offices in Mizpah and Birchdale were not released to The Journal, however, details for the Loman facility were listed in June.

Personnel expenses to operate the Loman Post Office in 2010, were more than $19,659 with an additional $4,800 paid annually to lease the building. The office generated a total income of $7,248 last year. That number averages out to about $24 coming into the post office each day and has contributed to a decline of 37 percent in three years.

The position of the postmaster at each location would be eliminated if discontinuance is decided.

Silvia Fleming, postmaster at the Mizpah office, declined comment on the city’s office listed on the access study, but did say that she was unsure of any specific details regarding the future of the facility.

Officials stress that placing post offices under review doesn’t necessarily mean they will close. In January, officials were reviewing 1,400 offices for closing. So far, 280 have been closed and 200 have finished the review process and will remain open. Minnesota hasn’t experienced any closures, according to Nowacki.

Once an office is selected for a review, people served by that office will have 60 days to file their comments and, if an office is to be closed, they will be able to appeal to the independent Postal Regulatory Commission.

To see a complete state-by-state list of the post offices around the country that the Postal Service is studying for closure, visit http://about.usps. com/news/electronicpresskits/ expandedaccess/ statelist.htm.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Processing mail in St. Cloud

Rumors have circled that communities in the 566 zip codes will now have their mail sorted in St. Cloud instead of Bemidji. Postal service spokesman Peter Nowacki said that the possibility is being considered.

“It is something we’re studying,” he said. “If mail sorting were moved to the larger plant in St. Cloud, we would be able to process mail more efficiently. It shouldn’t affect local mail service.”

However, Barry Pettit, mail processing clerk in the Bemidji office, expressed a different point of view through a letter seeking support to maintain mail processing in Bemidji.

“If their (Postal Service) best big idea doesn’t work and the delivery standard now next day becomes three to four days that will become the new delivery standard for the Bemidji area and entire 566 zip code,” he wrote.

Comments or concerns about processing mail in St. Cloud can be directed to:

Manager Consumer and Industry Contact

100 S 1st Street Room 115

Minneapolis, MN 55401-9631