Politics & Government

Slower Service Expected as Post Office Looks to Shut Processing Facility

Petaluma processing center on North McDowell is one of 250 sites around the country slated for closure in light of revenue shortfalls for the U.S. Post Office.

A letter sent from one address in Novato to another could take two days to arrive at its destination rather than one if a Petaluma processing center is shut down as recommened by postal officials.

In a follow-up to a Sept. 15 announcement, the U.S. Postal Service said Monday that it is still considering the shuttering about half of the mail processing facilities nationwide — 252 out of 487 — part of a plan to avert bankruptcy, officials said, citing $3 billion in savings. The North Bay plant, on North McDowell Boulevard in Petaluma, is one of the centers slated for closure.

"In order to actually close the 250 mail processing centers across country, we would have to change service standards from overnight to two-day," said James Wigdel, a San Francisco-based post office spokesperson.

About 150 people attended a January meeting in Petaluma when word was first circulated about a possible plan to close the North McDowell processing center. If the plan moves forward, the agency would save $2.5 million, Wigdel said. Operations would be relocated to West Oakland. That means a cross-town letter mailed in Novato would first go to the Oakland distribution center.

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Community post offices will not be impacted, he said, and no changes would go into effect before Jan. 1. Novato has 84 letter carriers and more than 50 routes.

David Williams, vice president of national postal network operations, said in a statement that the post office has to reduce operating costs by $20 billion by 2015 to make a profit.

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“The proposed changes to service standards will allow for significant consolidation of the postal network in terms of facilities, processing equipment, vehicles and employee workforce and will generate projected net annual savings of approximately $2.1 billion,” Williams said.

The cuts are part of the overall savings expected from the "network optimization initiative," which is projected to save up to $3 billion by 2015, according to post office officials.

"There's a good business case to close that facility," Widgel said. "But no decision has been made at this point. I don't want to speculate."

According to Widgel, the North Bay Processing plant closure in Petaluma would affect all mail posted from zip codes beginning with 949 and 954.

The public comment period on the potential closure concluded on Dec. 3, according to Widgel. Post office officials collected public comments at a town hall meeting in Petaluma last month, which Wigdel said will be taken into consideration. Wigdel said also being studied is the impact on traffic, employees and unions, and postal service.

Following the initial study, managers in San Francisco's facility will weigh in, then the case will move to San Diego. If passed there, the proposed closures will move to Washington, D.C., where a final decision will be made. The outcome is expected no later than January, Wigdel said.

Are you concerned about the mail processing center closures? Or has the post office outlived its usefulness? Tell us in the comments.

— Novato Patch's Brent Ainsworth and Bay City News Service contributed to this report.


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