Birmingham AL — The Postal Service is moving forward with a plan to keep Post Offices across the country open by realigning retail window hours based on customer use. The process to implement the plan (known as POSTPlan) is being conducted in a multi-phased approach over two years, to be completed in September 2014. The schedule for community meetings in Alabama begins October 9, 2012 (List included at the end of this release.)
In early September, each of the Postal Service’s 67 districts began the two-year nationwide process of notifying affected communities of the changed hours of operations of local Post Offices and other options available to them. Residents in these communities received a survey requesting a preference for one of four options available regarding the future status of their Post Office and a letter notifying them of the date, time, and location of a community meeting. At the meeting, local postal officials will share the results of the survey and answer questions.
Four options listed in survey:
- Keep the Post Office open, based on actual office workload. For example, hours would be reduced from 8 hours each weekday to 4 hours per weekday. Current Saturday hours will not change as a result of POST Plan and access to your delivery receptacles will not be impacted by POST Plan.
- Conduct a discontinuance study for the office and offer roadside mailbox delivery. Retail and delivery service would be provided through a rural carrier. Mail delivery points will be established and customers can purchase most postal services through the carrier or other alternate access points.
- Conduct a discontinuance study for the office and find a suitable alternative location operated by a contractor, usually at a local business. When businesses are found that meet the criteria, these establishments are contracted through the U.S. Postal Service and offer stamps and flat rate products with service hours generally more expansive than what the local Post Office will be able to offer.
- Conduct a discontinuance study for the office and provide P.O. Box service via another nearby Post Office and relocate P.O. Box delivery to that Post Office.
Post Offices evaluated under the POSTPlan will remain open with realigned hours unless a community has a strong preference for one of the other options. If a community chooses realigned Post Office retail window hours, Saturday hours will not change and access to delivery receptacles will not be reduced as a result of POSTPlan.
Meanwhile, to better serve customers, the Postal Service continues to pursue the establishment of the Village Post Office (VPO) in the communities affected by these changes and in other areas across the country, including communities with Post Offices. VPOs may be established in convenience stores, other local businesses, libraries, etc. — and are managed by the proprietors. By being located inside established businesses and other places consumers already frequent, VPOs offer postal customers time-saving convenience, and in most cases, longer hours than regular Post Offices. VPOs offer a range of popular postal products and services — the ones most used by customers — including Post Office Boxes, Forever stamps, and Prepaid Priority Mail Flat Rate envelopes.
ALABAMA COMMUNITY MEETING SCHEDULE
Tuesday, October 9, 3 pm
Tanner Post Office – Meeting at First Baptist Church of Tanner, 11590 US Hwy 31, Tanner AL 35671
Tuesday, October 9, 6 pm
Docena Post Office – Meeting at St. Matthews Church, 202 6th St, Docena AL 35060
Thursday, October 11, 6 pm
Bryant Post Office – Meeting at Bryant School, 6645 Alabama Hwy 73, Bryant AL 35958
Thursday, October 11, 6 pm
Saginaw Post Office – Meeting at Saginaw Camp Branch Civic Center, 70 Hwy 26, Saginaw AL 35137
Monday, October 15, 6 pm
Princeton Post Office – Meeting at Paint Rock Valley High School, 51 County Rd 3, Princeton AL 35766
Tuesday, October 16, 5 pm
Gantt Post Office – Meeting at Gantt Town Hall, 28826 Commerce St, Gantt AL 36038
Tuesday, October 16, 6 pm
Graysville Post Office – Meeting at Maurice G. West Community Center, 171 2nd St SW, Graysville AL 35073
Tuesday, October 16, 6 pm
Kansas Post Office – Meeting at Kansas Town Hall, 497 Old Hwy 78, Kansas AL 35573
Tuesday, October 16, 6 pm
Ryland Post Office – Meeting at Charles McCay Fellowship Hall, 3024 Dug Hill Rd, Huntsville AL 35811
Wednesday, October 17, 6 pm
Anderson Post Office – Meeting at Anderson Town Hall, 7262 Hwy 207, Anderson AL 35610
Wednesday, October 17, 6 pm
Coaling Post Office – Meeting at Coaling Town Hall, 11281 Stephens Loop Rd, Coaling AL 35449
Thursday, October 18, 5 pm
Wellington Post Office – Meeting at Crossroads Baptist Church, 37 Saxwood Lakeside Dr, Wellington AL 36279
Thursday, October 18, 6 pm
Detroit Post Office – Meeting at United Methodist Church, 65725 Hwy 17, Detroit AL 35552
Monday, October 22, 6 pm
Cloverdale Post Office – Meeting at Cloverdale Community Center, 17420 County Rd 8, Florence AL 35633
Tuesday, October 23, 12 Noon
Forkland Post Office – Meeting at Forkland Town Hall, 13327 US Hwy 43, Forkland AL 36740
Tuesday, October 23, 6 pm
Red Level Post Office – Meeting at Red Level Community Center, 5807 Stewart St, Red Level AL 36474
Thursday, October 25, 5 pm
Bear Creek Post Office – Meeting at Bobby Bishop Center, 260 High Ave, Bear Creek AL 35543
Thursday, October 25, 5 pm
Dozier Post Office – Meeting at Jan Cook Community Center, 7712 S Main St, Dozier AL 36028
Thursday, October 25, 5 pm
Garden City Post Office – Meeting at Garden City Town Hall, 501 First Ave South, Garden City AL 35070
Thursday, October 25, 6 pm
River Falls Post Office – Meeting at River Falls Baptist Church, 24951 Covington St, River Falls AL 36476
Tuesday, October 30, 6 pm
Whatley Post Office – Meeting at First Baptist Church of Whatley, 26820 Hwy 84 West, Whatley AL 36482
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A self-supporting government enterprise, the U.S. Postal Service is the only delivery service that reaches every address in the nation, 151 million residences, businesses and Post Office Boxes. The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses, and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations. With 32,000 retail locations and the most frequently visited website in the federal government, usps.com, the Postal Service has annual revenue of more than $65 billion and delivers nearly 40 percent of the world’s mail. If it were a private sector company, the U.S. Postal Service would rank 35th in the 2011 Fortune 500. In 2011,Oxford Strategic Consulting ranked the U.S. Postal Service number one in overall service performance of the posts in the top 20 wealthiest nations in the world. Black Enterprise and Hispanic Business magazines ranked the Postal Service as a leader in workforce diversity. The Postal Service has been named the Most Trusted Government Agency for six years and the sixth Most Trusted Business in the nation by the Ponemon Institute.
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