Just recently the City of Imperial Beach approved a resolution against any changes to the service or operations of the city’s only United States Postal Service (USPS) provider due to concerns the office might close.
During the Aug. 16 city council meeting, Imperial Beach City Manager Tyler Foltz said the city was informed there would be changes with postal carriers moving to the city of Chula Vista, but that there would be no impact to services. Foltz said the city has heard from members of the public concerns that ultimately the post office may move when its lease is up.
The post office operation modifications are part of the national USPS Sorting and Delivery Center Initiative, according to a city staff report. This is an initiative by USPS aimed at making major changes over the next 10 years to modernize the organization and achieve financial sustainability.
In an email, Duke Gonzales with USPS told KPBS the Imperial Beach Post Office is not closing. Mail carriers will in fact relocate to the Chula Vista Post Office, but no changes are expected for retail and PO Box operations. He added customers who would normally pick up their undelivered packages at the post office will continue to do so.
“We are committed to serving our Imperial Beach customers and have absolutely no plans to close the current facility or to depart the Imperial Beach community,” Gonzales wrote.
The history of the USPS goes back over 200 years. It first started on July 26, 1775 by the Second Continental Congress who appointed Benjamin Franklin as its first postmaster general.
In Imperial Beach the post office has kept its doors open to the community at its Donax Avenue location since 1956, according to the South Bay Historical Society. It has provided residents access to a physical location for a number of services including mailing letters, sending packages, taking passport photos, buying stamps, as well as dropping off vote-by-mail ballots amongst other services.
In spite of the reassurance from USPS, Imperial Beach City Council and members of the public are still concerned about the future of their post office.
KPBS would like to know what role does the post office play in your community? How does the post office impact your life and what does it mean to you? What would you lose by losing your post office? What changes to your local post office would affect you most?
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