USPS targets Alexander, Cedar offices
Published on -11/4/2011, 9:52 AM
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By MIKE CORN
ALEXANDER -- The U.S. Postal Service is recommending the closure of both the Alexander and Cedar post offices.
USPS made the recommendations in recent days, along with similar recommendations for seven other post offices across the state.
The "Notice of Final Determination" -- the document USPS uses after it studies a post office and receives comments from customers -- was posted on Halloween for Cedar and a week ago for Alexander, according to USPS spokesman Brian Sperry.
Both communities are scheduled to receive mail delivery by rural mail carrier.
The communities now have 30 days to appeal the decision to the U.S. Postal Regulatory Commission, the agency that oversees the USPS.
The PRC then has 120 days to review the decision, but Sperry said it either can confirm the action or send it back for further review. It cannot change the form of the decision, he said. If PRC affirms the decision, the post offices can be closed 60 days later.
The Alexander Post Office was one of the first offices studied for closure, as the USPS struggled to rein in costs in the wake of declining mail volume. The agency is expected to lose as much as $10 billion this year.
Alexander would save only about $28,000 a year, but even that number likely is inflated. Instead, the savings will be closer to $20,000 a year -- after taking out a postmaster's salary and fringe benefits.
Alexander was identified early in the rush to close offices because it didn't have a full-time postmaster.
The same is true for Cedar, but it was among a later wave of offices to be studied for closure. Its postmaster's position also was vacant. There are nearly 150 Kansas post offices in various stages of the process of closure. More than 130 were announced in July, and put on a fast-track process of closure. There are about 600 post offices in Kansas.
In the area, Alton, Athol, Bogue, Brownell, Catharine, Collyer, Damar, Edson, Gaylord, Herndon, Kanorado, Kirwin, Long Island, Norcatur, Paradise, Park, Waldo and Woodston are being studied for possible closure.
