USPS seeks public input on Springfield mail processing center

The U.S. Postal Service announced yesterday that it will host a public input meeting in January to discuss putting sorting operations at the 500 W. Chestnut Expressway facility to an end.
 
Retail operations would continue at the facility, which would remain open, said Richard Watkins, a spokesman for the USPS Mid-America district in Kansas City.

During the meeting, which will be held at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 4 at the Executive Conference Center, 910 W. Battlefield Road, USPS officials plan to discuss the findings of a September Area Mail Processing Study that found USPS would save more than $7.5 million annually if it consolidates the Springfield sorting operations with those in Kansas City. The Springfield center, which employs more than 250 workers, could lose about 57 positions if operations cease, according to USPS projections.

News of the public input meeting comes on the heels of a September announcement by Postmaster General and USPS CEO Patrick Donahue, who said the organization would need to cut $20 billion in expenses to turn a profit by 2015. Also being considered locally and beyond is a switch to five-day service.

According to the USPS, first-class mail volume has declined by almost 23 billion pieces, or approximately 42 percent, between fiscal years 2001-10. Overall mail volumes, according to Watkins, are down 20 percent nationwide since a peak in 2006.
 
“There are a lot of variables that need to be considered in each one of these mail sorting operations depending on where they are located, of course, in their proximity to, in this case, Kansas City: transportation network; volume of mail; size of plant; and our ability to accommodate any additional sorting operations along with equipment and employees,” Watkins said. “Those all weigh on a decision on whether it is feasible to move forward.”

In December, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., joined a group of senators asking the USPS to delay closing any post offices or area mail processing facilities through mid-May, allowing more time for Congress to “enact reforms necessary” to potentially save those facilities, according to McCaskill.Senate.gov.

The USPS announced in September it was reviewing 3,600 low-activity post offices across the country as well as 252 mail processing centers for closure.

Watkins said it could take months for USPS officials to determine whether it would cease Springfield sorting operations.

“Decisions will be made based on the input and data that we come back with, but no actual closings would take place until at least May 15,” Watkins said.

For more on this story, look to the Jan. 2 print edition of the Springfield Business Journal.[[In-content Ad]]