News : Brandon residents make appeal for post office

More than 80 Brandon residents attended the meeting; those who spoke oppose closing the post office.

Lifetime resident Bob Bearbower discusses the Brandon post office with Stacy St. John of the USPS.

More than 80 postal customers served by the Brandon Post office gathered at the Brandon Community Center to share their concerns about the proposal to close the post office.

Brandon is one of 178 post office locations in Iowa and approximately 3,700 across the U.S. that the United States Postal Service is considering closing as it deals with revenue issues caused by the continuing decrease in demand. The other Benton County communities facing possible closure are Mt. Auburn and Watkins. A Mt. Auburn meeting has been scheduled for 5:15 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 7, at the Mt. Auburn Legion Hall.

"Brandon has never been without a post office," long-time resident Don Haisch told USPS representatives Angie Green and Stacy St. John. "We need it to maintain our identity."

Brandon, said Haisch, has 52 businesses, and many senior citizens and handicapped individuals who would find the closing of the post office to be a significant hardship.

If the USPS does close the Brandon post office, the residents who live in Brandon would still receive mail every day. But instead of delivery to their home, the mail would be delivered to one or more cluster box areas, where residents would have to walk or drive to pick up their mail. While some basic services, such as purchase of stamps, may still be available from the carrier, the shipping of large packages and other items may require a trip to a post office in another city. Those who receive large packages in the mail may need to drive to the Walker post office to pick them up, although St. John told the crowd that the rural carriers would be expected to deliver packages as before.

Several people told the USPS representatives that while the move could save the post office some money, it could represent more expenses for the customers.

"I won't argue with you about that point," replied St. John on more than one occasion.

The reason for considering closures of smaller post offices, said St. John, is the fact that fewer people are relying on the USPS to pay bills and correspond with friends and relatives.

"Our mail volume has decreased so dramatically that we cannot fill our buildings," she said, explaining that the Waterloo and Cedar Rapids processing centers have cut back from three shifts to two because of the decreased demand. Another USPS proposal is eliminating half of its processing centers; the Waterloo and Cedar Rapids facilities are on the list of proposed closings. But, said St. John, even if those facilities close, residents can still expect daily mail, although it would mean adjustments for those delivering the mail.

The USPS will consider the comments before making final decisions; the earliest any post office would close would be December.

Both Congressman Bruce Braley and U.S. Senator Tom Harkin sent staff members to the meeting. Both oppose the closing of any post offices, and said that a new bill being introduced in Congress to change the USPS pension fund would save much more money than closing post offices would save.

Some residents also suggested a limited schedule of three or four days of delivery per week, instead of six. But a change like that would require Congress to change the guidelines it has set for the USPS.

See earlier Vinton Today stories on this issue HERE.