aboessenkool@bakersfield.com (Antonie Boessenkool Californian Staff Writer) The Bakersfield Californian
Tue, 13 Dec 2011 17:48:29 PST
Bakersfield post office officials will hold a public meeting Dec. 28 to hear comments on the possible closure of the local mail sorting facility.
The U.S. Postal Service plans to close about 250 processing facilities to cut costs. The closures and a proposed change in first-class mail delivery standards from one day to two or three are expected to save $2.1 billion a year. One of the facilities under review is the Bakersfield Processing and Distribution Center on Pegasus Drive.
The meeting will be from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 28, at the North of the River Veterans Hall, 400 Norris Road in Oildale.
An Area Mail Processing study will "determine capacity needs within the postal network in order to increase efficiency and improve productivity," according to a letter sent to major postal customers in the Bakersfield area.
It will establish whether consolidating mail processing in Bakersfield and Santa Clarita will be more efficient, according to the Postal Service's website.
Bakersfield postal service representatives will present the study results and ask for the public's response, said David Morrison, manager of processing and distribution for the Bakersfield facility.
The study won't involve a federal-level observer coming to Bakersfield, but rather will be done internally at the Bakersfield facility, Morrison said.
A private meeting is planned for this Friday to talk to "stakeholders" -- large postal service customers like mail presorting companies -- about the possible closure, Morrison said.
Dayna Nichols, CEO of Castle Print and Publication, said she has contacted city and county officials, nonprofit organizations and other mailing and printing companies encouraging people to participate in the meetings.
"Hopefully, we'll make a united stand and let the post office know how important the mail is to our businesses and community," Nichols said.
She said she and other big post office customers received notice in September that the Bakersfield facility was being considered for closure. But, she added, the opportunities to give formal input about the process have declined since a council of major postal customers in the Bakersfield area disbanded a few years ago.
Moreover, she said, there is short notice for the private meeting and timing of the public meeting just after Christmas make it difficult to organize people.
"We need to have the meeting," Nichols said. "To have four days to get the word out (for the private stakeholder meeting) is a little tough. There's a lot of people who this will affect."
Morrison said the meeting dates align with the timing of the study of the Bakersfield facility and that the time of year wasn't a factor in setting the dates.
The meeting dates closely follow the announcement from the U.S. Postal Service about the possible closures for a reason, he said.
"It (the meeting dates) is accelerated. We're losing a lot of money," he said. "For us to stay viable ... we've got to get going on this."
Morrison added that following the Dec. 28 meeting, the public will have 15 days to submit comments to the U.S. Postal Service about the Bakersfield facility's possible closing. Information on where to send those comments will be announced at the Dec. 28 meeting, he said.
Also being considered for closure are processing centers in Eureka, Long Beach, Pasadena, Redding, San Bernardino and Stockton. Closures have been approved for centers in Industry and Salinas and for mail originating from Stockton.
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