Town hall meeting to be held tonight on USPS closure

Last edited 2:44 p.m., Jan. 4, 2012

Postal workers yesterday picketed outside the U.S. Postal Service sorting center at 500 W. Chestnut Expressway, which has been marked for possible consolidation with a Kansas City branch. Tonight, business owners will have a chance to speak at a 6:30 p.m. town hall meeting at the Executive Conference Center, 910 W. Battlefield Road.

USPS officials plan to discuss the findings of a September study that found the postal service would save more than $7.5 million annually if it consolidates the Springfield sorting center, which would suffer a net loss of 57 positions upon closure, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.

Facing a sharp decline of first-class mail volume in the last decade, the USPS in September said it would consider closing 252 mail processing centers and 3,600 low activity post offices in an effort to save $20 billion by 2015.

According to the USPS, if the Springfield center closes, first class postage mailed within the city would take two to three days if processing operations here ceased. Retail operations at the center would continue.

Prior to the town hall meeting, from 5 to 6 p.m., a private meeting with area business mailers will be held, said USPS Mid-America District Spokesman Richard Watkins. He noted that the meeting - available by invitation - would allow business mailers the opportunity to ask specific questions about how business mail would be affected if the Springfield sorting center closes.
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