Rep. Owens weighs in on post-office closure studies

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Rep. Bill Owens
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June 28, 2011

BOB BENNETT Press-Republican The Press Republican Tue Jun 28, 2011, 07:04 AM EDT

PORT KENT — Rep. Bill Owens is urging the U.S. Postal Service to retain post offices in the 23rd Congressional District.

The Postal Service is studying hundreds of post offices across the country for possible closure or consolidation as it struggles with a projected $10 billion deficit.

Four North Country post offices are undergoing closure studies: Port Kent, Severance, Schuyler Falls and Keene.

LETTER TO POSTMASTER

Owen's spokesman, Sean Magers, said the congressman is advocating for offices that are still well-trafficked, especially when their closure would leave people with a 30-mile round trip to conduct their postal business.

"As a representative for a large, rural congressional district, closing or consolidating these post offices to me represents a 'pound foolish' approach that will do little to alleviate the Postal Service's financial difficulties, while causing harm to small, undeserved communities," Owens wrote in a letter to Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe.

PUSHED FOR HELP

Elaine Smith, a longtime customer of the Port Kent Post Office, was instrumental in getting Owens involved.

She put together a petition that garnered well over 100 signatures. When the petition was submitted, Owens called her personally, she said. He told her he was happy to help.

If the Port Kent facility should close, Smith and her fellow residents would have to travel to the Keeseville Post Office, which is about 5 miles away.

"I couldn't believe it when I found out," she said of the closure study.

"But (Owens) was wonderful. He sent a lovely letter and said he would continue to go on with his efforts. I hope this will be the crowning point of everything."

State Assemblywoman Teresa Sayward also weighed in on the matter recently in a letter to Owens.

She agreed with the congressman and offered to help. But she also acknowledged the need for efficiencies in the Postal Service.

She suggested that the Postal Service install a series of unmanned drop boxes and pickup points in Port Kent, a solution that wouldn't satisfy Smith.

"That's no good," Smith said. "You would still have to drive into Keeseville for overnight mail."

COMMENTS SOUGHT

When a post office is chosen for a closure study, one of the Postal Service's first steps is to solicit comments and concerns from customers, said Dan Cronin, manager of post office operations for the High Peaks area.

The Postal Service wants to know what the effect would be on the community and what the best alternative would be for the customers if the office should close, Cronin said.

In many cases, the Postal Service will offer home delivery or consolidate boxes at a facility that customers consider more convenient than one originally proposed, he added.

URGED TO LISTEN

But many customers fear the Postal Service has already made up its mind on the matter and that their comments will be ignored.

In the letter to the postmaster general, Owens asked that the agency "take full and sincere consideration of the comments raised by constituents attending the Postal Service's public hearings on this matter."

If any particular facility should be selected for closure, Owens asked that Donahoe provide detailed, individual analysis that explains the action.

Customers have about 60 days to appeal a decision after it has been made.

Owens would also like the Postal Service to provide data on the current traffic each of those offices receives, the cost savings it projects, "information on the nearest substantially similar facility" and any other data that might be relevant.

"I firmly believe this level of transparency is required to ensure decisions are being made in a thoughtful and service-minded way," Owens wrote in the letter.

SEEKS FAIR SOLUTIONS

He also urged Donahoe to identify and accommodate customers who would be especially inconvenienced, such as the elderly or disabled.

"Expanding home delivery to some not currently eligible may provide one solution," Owens wrote, "but I would be happy to work with you on ways to ensure fair and proper treatment of those in underserved areas."

In a separate letter to his constituents, Owens said he is co-sponsor of a bill that would recoup nearly $7 billion in overpayments to the Postal Service's pension fund and use the money to serve rural American postal customers.