LEESBURG – At a town hall meeting in Leesburg Wednesday afternoon, a representative from the United States Postal Service told community members that the hours for the post office would likely change.
Tangela L. Bush, manager of post office operations in South Bend, informed community members that the post office hours would be shortened.
“Four weeks ago we sent out 2,225 surveys to people in the Leesburg area,” Bush said. “Three hundred and fifty-nine people, or 68 percent, of those surveyed said they wanted a realignment of hours.”
She said, “We are looking at potential operating hours of four hours per day.”
The new proposed hours would be Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and hours on Saturday would not change. The proposed hours were the hours that the community indicated they would like through the survey.
The decision on the hours will be posted at the Leesburg Post Office seven days from the date of the meeting and the hours will go into effect 30 days after.
Additionally, Bush said that the USPS is evaluating a 24-hour lobby for those to get their mail with ease.
“We want to make all of the post offices that we are changing a 24-hour lobby,” Bush said. “The postal inspector has already been to the post office to evaluate what would possibly need to be changed to make the post office safe for a 24-hour lobby.”
The evaluation of the Leesburg post office, as well as many other small post offices, is a part of the “POST” Plan. Bush said the post office is losing money and is looking for ways to recoup lost revenue.
“The post office is losing money. It’s no surprise it’s happening,” Bush said. “The USPS is looking at more than 13,000 offices. They are looking at money coming in and out, as well as the amount of visits to the post office.”
Bush said that the plan is estimated to save the USPS a half billion dollars. The POST Plan is scheduled to be in effect until 2014.
Some community members were afraid that the post office could be lost. Bush reassured them that the post office is not closing, but she made sure that they knew if it was not used it could be lost in the future.
“We can do everything and not come to the post office,” Bush said. “The volumes are just not there. We have to use it, if we don’t use it, it’s gone, just like anything else in life. You use it or lose it.”
Bush went on to say that the post office will re-evaluate the POST Plan after 2014, but the evaluation process might be different and the program might be different.
Additionally, Bush mentioned that a business in the community could become a village post office and sell stamps and pick up parcels that already have postage on them.
Stu Wysong, of the Insurance Shoppe in Leesburg, asked Bush if a business wanted to be a VPO, would it be a asset to the post office and the community or a hindrance.
“It would be an asset for the community,” Bush said. “The money generated from that VPO goes toward the money generated by the Leesburg post office.”
Janelle Deatsman, communications manager for Maple Leaf Farms, informed Bush that she was hoping the post office would stay open until 3 p.m. so that it would not interrupt their business.
“For our business we would like to see it open until 3 p.m., but we can certainly look at our business practices,” Deatsman said.
After the meeting, Leesburg Clerk-Treasurer Jan Carter spoke with Bush and asked about the service to the 283 homes and businesses in the town of Leesburg.
“If the lobby is shut down, or if sometime in the future the post office would close, how would the people of Leesburg get their mail?” Carter said.
Bush responded by reassuring Carter that the USPS would evaluate that if it happened, but the options would be home delivery or a central hub full of boxes that residents can go and get their mail.
