Bannock County delegation to lobby Postal Service

A delegation of Bannock County leaders will travel to Washington D.C. October 27 to press the United States Postal Service to reopen the Flandro Mail Processing Center.

Mayor Brian Blad met with Post Office representatives from Salt Lake City Tuesday.”Ultimately though,” said Blad, “we feel our concerns would be best addressed by officials in Washington, D.C.”

The rest of the delegation will include Chubbuck Mayor Kevin England, Bannock County Commissioner Howard Manwaring, Pocatello Planning and Development Services Director Lon Crowell, and Old Town Pocatello Inc. Executive Director Stephanie Palagi.

The processing center was closed in April 2015. Mail once processed in Pocatello is now being sent to Salt Lake City.

Blad believes the postal service decision is having an adverse impact on mail customers.

“Businesses cannot operate efficiently and people who depend on timely mail service are at the mercy of USPS. This is simply unacceptable,” said Blad.

U.S. Postal Service District Manager Darrell Stoke said the post office revised service standards in January 2015 to implement a two-day delivery standard for local First-Class Mail.

He said the action was part of a national change, not one affecting only Pocatello.

The USPS says mail volumes in the Pocatello area have decreased dramatically over the past few years. Letter mail volume is down by more than 20 percent in that time.

The Post Office said it has attempted to minimize the impact on its customers and employees, according to Stoke.

The Gateway Station Office in Pocatello is still open and continues to process mail for delivery on Pocatello’s carrier routes. It is also a Post Office transportation hub and Bulk Mail Entry Unit.

Stoke told Blad Tuesday that the postal service would continue to to work hard to deliver the best possible mail service for all customers.