NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (KNOP) – After months of discussion and public input, the United States Postal Service has decided it will transfer operations of the North Platte Mail Processing and Distribution Center to Denver, CO, and convert the North Platte facility to a Local Processing Center (LPC).
The announcement comes following a business review and solicitation of public feedback on the facility’s future. “Currently, a majority of mail and packages are destined outside the North Platte area to the rest of the world,” the U.S. Postal Service wrote in a press release.
The U.S. Postal Service announced in January its $40 million investment plan, “Delivery for America” (DFA) to improve postal services across the country and that it’s conducting evaluations of current operations and potential future users of the local facility.
North Platte Area Chamber and Development Corporation President and CEO Gary Person said the following in an interview with KNOP News 2. “But the farce of a public hearing they held, which was only a regular process they had to follow, shows the hypocrisy of the situation. You know, those were outright lies that they professed in their strategic plan that this is going to improve service and we are going to have dependable mail delivery. Nothing can be further from the truth, and the sad thing is that they will not be held accountable,” said Person.
As part of the plan, the Postal Service will invest up to $4.4 million in the North Platte facility. $2 million will go towards modernization efforts and deferred maintenance, such as new lighting and renovated bathrooms and breakrooms. $2.4 million “will be made to locate a Flex Rover Sorter Dual into the facility.”
The press release also added the facility will feature evolving USPS self-service tools and technology to give customers added services and new choices in how they ship and receive packages, including Smart Lockers, which are a keyless, self-service delivery solution that allows package shippers and package recipients to send and receive packages direct to a Post Office Smart Locker location.
The Postal Service also said there will be no career layoffs as part of this initiative. “All career bargaining unit reassignments, as well as any reduction in any number of pre-career employees, will be made in accordance with respective collective bargaining agreements. As part of its strategy, the Postal Service is enhancing package processing and shipping capacity, which may result in increased plant activity and the need for additional support in the future.
Once changes are complete, business mail, Post Office, station, and branch retail services are not expected to change, and delivery services will be enhanced.
After the North Platte facility is converted to an LPC, it is anticipated that it will be able to mail and ship packages, manual letters, and flats. The LPC is also anticipated to offer express services and accept bulk and permit mail.
In the meantime, local and state officials are voicing their frustration over the decision.
Nebraska Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE), released the following statement:
“This decision—leaving the entire Third District, more land area than the state of North Dakota, without a USPS Mail Processing and Distribution Center—is another in a long line of actions demonstrating USPS’ lack of concern for rural Americans. As American postal customer satisfaction and rates of on-time delivery are decreasing, there is strong evidence moving operations to Denver risks greater delays and inefficiencies. Furthermore, it appears our clearly voiced concerns were simply disregarded by USPS, as they were when processing at facilities in Grand Island and Alliance was consolidated to Omaha in 2013 and 2015. This is unacceptable for Nebraska communities, businesses, and seniors who are particularly reliant on USPS for delivery of prescription medicines.
“Failing to restore customer confidence is a losing strategy. To achieve the reforms that are desperately needed for USPS to overcome its serious fiscal problems and fulfill its constitutional mission to serve all Americans, USPS must focus more on improving service.”
Congressman Smith sent a letter to U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy expressing concerns over the proposed removal of postal operations from the North Platte facility.
Read the letter here.
U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) joined her Senate colleagues in sending a letter to the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) urging the agency to pause planned changes to its processing and delivery network that could slow down mail delivery until the potential impacts are further studied by the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC) and addressed by the Postal Service.
“The USPS ‘modernization’ plan not only fails to consider the impact on rural communities around the country, but it may even slow down the very mail service it purports to modernize. The disingenuous public comment period also failed to incorporate feedback from the towns most affected by this change, like North Platte. Along with more than twenty of my colleagues in the U.S. Senate, I’m calling for the USPS to pause these planned changes until we know more about how they will affect critical services that rural Americans deserve,” said Senator Fischer.
In a letter, the Senators expressed concern over the impacts these changes have already had on communities across the country, and the potential impact to timely mail delivery that further changes could cause.
The Senators urged USPS to request a comprehensive Advisory Opinion from the PRC that analyzes the full scope of the network changes, including changes to local transportation and postal facilities across the nation, before moving forward with any such changes.
Find additional elected official’s statements here.
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