Mentone Residents Unhappy with Post Office Hours
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
They were vocal that if the new hours for the post office window were approved, it would do more harm than good and the post office would be used less, not more, than it currently is in Mentone.
In September, town residents received a letter from Judy Bays, post office review coordinator, saying that the U.S. Postal Service had established a review process for certain post offices known as the “POST Plan.” The Mentone post office was among offices evaluated under POST Plan criteria.
The Postal Service sought community input through a survey to help determine the best course of action for providing postal services to Mentone.
The letter stated that the Postal Service would examine the responses, and that the Postal Service intended to maintain the Mentone office with six hours of window service each weekday. Current Saturday window service hours and access to drop boxes would not change.
Monday, Tangela L. Bush, manager of Post Office Operations, South Bend, presented the results of the survey.
Of the 979 customer surveys mailed, Bush said 316 were returned. A majority – 93 percent, or 294 – voted in favor of realignment of hours.
Only 5 percent – 15 surveys – favored a delivery option, with only 1 percent – two surveys – selecting the village post office option. Two percent, or five surveys, made no selection, while no one chose the nearby post office option.
After reviewing the surveys returned, and taking into account Postal Service operational needs, the tentative hours for the Mentone Post Office likely will be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, Bush said.
Currently, according to Amber Sherman, Mentone postmaster, window hours are 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 to 4:15 p.m. Monday through Friday; and 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturdays. Lobby hours are 7 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 7 to 11:15 a.m. Saturdays.
Bush said before the new hours are set, she will take all the information from the public meeting and relay it to her bosses. Once a decision has been made on the hours, they will be posted at the post office for seven days. Thirty days after that, they will go into effect, she said, possibly around the new year. They then won’t be reviewed again until September 2014.
Bush said the U.S. Postal Service is losing billions of dollars. People aren't sending First Class Mail through the post office like they used to, but are going different routes.
“I tell people, the only way we are going to stay in business is we’ve got to work together,” Bush told the crowd of about 30 people. “You’ve got to use the post office if you want it to stay around.”
She also said there’s been no decision yet on whether the Mentone Post Office lobby will be open 24 hours. Sherman said except for some lighting, the post office building in Mentone was ready to have its lobby open 24 hours if approved.
During public comments, one resident said he read in a magazine that the savings expected from the post office realignments was overstated. Bush said that might be, but she can only go with the information she has.
A woman asked if Saturday delivery was going to be eliminated. Bush said it was discussed but would have to go through Congress, and they haven’t done that.
Most of the residents at the meeting were not happy the Mentone Post Office would close so early at 3 p.m. weekdays. A woman said people aren’t even off work at 3 p.m. When Bush asked her what hours she would propose, she said 10 a.m. to 4 or 5 p.m. weekdays.
Mike Yazel told Bush that the determination of window hours should be based on statistics of when it’s most used. He suggested it would be better to have the office open on Saturdays, and it could be closed another weekday like Tuesday if necessary.
Asked if the changes would affect rural delivery, Bush said no.
After one resident mentioned tax dollars going to the post office, Bush stressed that the post office does not receive tax dollars and has not since 1982. It runs on the money it makes from stamps, package delivery and other retail items.
If the postal service runs from the money it makes from the sale of stamps, one man told Bush every time the post office reduces services they lose sales.
“It’s been doing that for decades,” he said.
“You say use (the post office), we’re trying to give you solutions,” Town Marshal Jim Eads said. “Nine to three, you’re not going to get used.”
Bush explained that if the post office is opened too late in the evening, it would push transportation to other post offices back and that would have to be realigned. Also, delivery time couldn’t be guaranteed for items dropped off at the post office around or after 5 p.m.
“I can live with less hours if I have better hours in the afternoon,” Yazel later commented. He said establishing post office hours without looking at the statistics of when it was most often used was ridiculous.
Bush indicated they were looking at letting every post office possible have a 24-hour lobby.
Town Council President Tim Croy told Bush everyone he talked to in town wanted extended hours at the post office, not less. He suggested 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
When Croy asked about getting a stamp machine in the lobby, Bush said they cost about $200,000 each so that was unlikely.
If the post office is only open 9 to 3 daily, Yazel said that would eventually choke the Post Office off and the town would not have a viable post office.
One of the last comments made by a town resident was, “A lot we’re talking about needs to be brought up to our Congressional representatives. They’re the ones making the decisions.”
Bush said anyone else with further questions or comments can contact her at 424 S. Michigan St., South Bend, IN 46624-9998; telephone 574-282-8444; fax 574-282-8495; or email [email protected]
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They were vocal that if the new hours for the post office window were approved, it would do more harm than good and the post office would be used less, not more, than it currently is in Mentone.
In September, town residents received a letter from Judy Bays, post office review coordinator, saying that the U.S. Postal Service had established a review process for certain post offices known as the “POST Plan.” The Mentone post office was among offices evaluated under POST Plan criteria.
The Postal Service sought community input through a survey to help determine the best course of action for providing postal services to Mentone.
The letter stated that the Postal Service would examine the responses, and that the Postal Service intended to maintain the Mentone office with six hours of window service each weekday. Current Saturday window service hours and access to drop boxes would not change.
Monday, Tangela L. Bush, manager of Post Office Operations, South Bend, presented the results of the survey.
Of the 979 customer surveys mailed, Bush said 316 were returned. A majority – 93 percent, or 294 – voted in favor of realignment of hours.
Only 5 percent – 15 surveys – favored a delivery option, with only 1 percent – two surveys – selecting the village post office option. Two percent, or five surveys, made no selection, while no one chose the nearby post office option.
After reviewing the surveys returned, and taking into account Postal Service operational needs, the tentative hours for the Mentone Post Office likely will be 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, Bush said.
Currently, according to Amber Sherman, Mentone postmaster, window hours are 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 3 to 4:15 p.m. Monday through Friday; and 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Saturdays. Lobby hours are 7 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 7 to 11:15 a.m. Saturdays.
Bush said before the new hours are set, she will take all the information from the public meeting and relay it to her bosses. Once a decision has been made on the hours, they will be posted at the post office for seven days. Thirty days after that, they will go into effect, she said, possibly around the new year. They then won’t be reviewed again until September 2014.
Bush said the U.S. Postal Service is losing billions of dollars. People aren't sending First Class Mail through the post office like they used to, but are going different routes.
“I tell people, the only way we are going to stay in business is we’ve got to work together,” Bush told the crowd of about 30 people. “You’ve got to use the post office if you want it to stay around.”
She also said there’s been no decision yet on whether the Mentone Post Office lobby will be open 24 hours. Sherman said except for some lighting, the post office building in Mentone was ready to have its lobby open 24 hours if approved.
During public comments, one resident said he read in a magazine that the savings expected from the post office realignments was overstated. Bush said that might be, but she can only go with the information she has.
A woman asked if Saturday delivery was going to be eliminated. Bush said it was discussed but would have to go through Congress, and they haven’t done that.
Most of the residents at the meeting were not happy the Mentone Post Office would close so early at 3 p.m. weekdays. A woman said people aren’t even off work at 3 p.m. When Bush asked her what hours she would propose, she said 10 a.m. to 4 or 5 p.m. weekdays.
Mike Yazel told Bush that the determination of window hours should be based on statistics of when it’s most used. He suggested it would be better to have the office open on Saturdays, and it could be closed another weekday like Tuesday if necessary.
Asked if the changes would affect rural delivery, Bush said no.
After one resident mentioned tax dollars going to the post office, Bush stressed that the post office does not receive tax dollars and has not since 1982. It runs on the money it makes from stamps, package delivery and other retail items.
If the postal service runs from the money it makes from the sale of stamps, one man told Bush every time the post office reduces services they lose sales.
“It’s been doing that for decades,” he said.
“You say use (the post office), we’re trying to give you solutions,” Town Marshal Jim Eads said. “Nine to three, you’re not going to get used.”
Bush explained that if the post office is opened too late in the evening, it would push transportation to other post offices back and that would have to be realigned. Also, delivery time couldn’t be guaranteed for items dropped off at the post office around or after 5 p.m.
“I can live with less hours if I have better hours in the afternoon,” Yazel later commented. He said establishing post office hours without looking at the statistics of when it was most often used was ridiculous.
Bush indicated they were looking at letting every post office possible have a 24-hour lobby.
Town Council President Tim Croy told Bush everyone he talked to in town wanted extended hours at the post office, not less. He suggested 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
When Croy asked about getting a stamp machine in the lobby, Bush said they cost about $200,000 each so that was unlikely.
If the post office is only open 9 to 3 daily, Yazel said that would eventually choke the Post Office off and the town would not have a viable post office.
One of the last comments made by a town resident was, “A lot we’re talking about needs to be brought up to our Congressional representatives. They’re the ones making the decisions.”
Bush said anyone else with further questions or comments can contact her at 424 S. Michigan St., South Bend, IN 46624-9998; telephone 574-282-8444; fax 574-282-8495; or email [email protected]
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