First the blue mailboxes disappeared from the street corners. Now it could be the post offices.
Three post office stations in Aurora, Westminster and Pueblo are being studied for possible closure as part of budget-cutting measures by the U.S. Postal Service, which faces an operating deficit of $7 billion this fiscal year.
A fourth station, in Old Town Fort Collins, is being studied for a possible change in location.
“We’ve been hurt by the struggling economy, just as many business have been affected,” said Al DeSarro, spokesman for the Western region of the U.S. Postal Service.
On Tuesday, the Government Accountability Office added the U.S. Postal Service to its list of high-risk federal agencies, recommending that the service work with Congress and other stakeholders to create a restructuring plan.
The recession has caused a steep drop in mail volume on top of a change in consumer patterns favoring the Internet over the brick-and- mortar post office.
But before closing post offices, officials are focused on streamlining existing routes.
“The big thing right now is route adjustments,” DeSarro said. “We now have 15 percent less mail volume nationwide, and in line with that, we’re consolidating and economizing those routes.”
A Gallup survey conducted in June showed that 66 percent of Americans agree with a proposed plan to cut delivery service to five days a week.
But when it comes to closing post offices, people tell a different story.
“In other parts of the country, when (possible closure of) post office stations have been studied, some people have said: ‘No, you can’t do this. Please don’t take away our local post office,’ ” DeSarro said.
“It’s an identity thing. People identify it as part of their neighborhood. There’s a connection there, like with the local supermarket.”
When the list of potential post office station closures was first released, there were 15 in Colorado at risk, including the Stockyard Station, at 4910 Brighton Blvd. Although the list has been whittled to three, the future for the others remains uncertain.
Customers at the Stockyard Station say they will be lost if their neighborhood mail center is closed.
“It would be devastating” said Mark Fairbanks, who works for North Park Transportation and has dropped off the company mail there daily for 15 years. “It’s just such a neat post office. It’s never packed.”
Deanna Jaynes, a counter clerk there for 15 years, calls it community. She said people walk from their homes to check their post office boxes and to hang out in the lobby and chat with their neighbors.
“It’s personal,” she said. “I know almost everyone and greet them by name.”
Like many other businesses, the Postal Service is now offering a lot of its services online, like buying stamps or click-and-ship labels.
“Not all is bleak here,” said DeSarro. “We’re doing these things to be as lean and efficient as we can, while still looking at some hard decisions to remain viable in this economy.”
Colleen O’Connor: 303-954-1083 or coconnor@denverpost.com
