By Bruce Rolfe
The United States Postal Service’s Sorting and Deliver Center (S&DC) consolidation and realignment plan that would have impacted the Climax, Scotts, Galesburg and other area post offices, is on hold for now at a majority of those post offices according to a representative from the National Association of Postal Supervisors (NAPS) which represents supervisors, managers, and postmasters who work within the United States Postal Service.
Kevin Trayer, Michiana Area Vice President of the National Association of Postal Supervisors serving in Michigan and Indiana, said under the proposed plan local rural route carriers from 17 offices in the Kalamazoo Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) including Climax, Scotts and Galesburg, would drive to the Oshtemo facility to get their sorted mail and then return to their local areas to deliver mail beginning June 1.
Trayer said all delivery units from the Schoolcraft Post Office, Portage Post Office branch on Milham Road, and Kalamazoo Westwood branch on Drake Road are moving into the 9th Street Oshtemo facility starting June 1. The rural route drivers will be shuttled from the 9th Street facility to their home base post offices and then shuttled back at the end of the day May 31 before beginning a routine of driving to the facility in Oshtemo to sort and pick up mail and return to deliver mail in a Post Office vehicle.
The Climax, Scotts, and Galesburg Post Offices were included on the list of 17 local post offices on the S&DC, but Trayer said the plan has changed after it was determined the move wouldn’t be cost effective.
“Those 14 other offices have been taken off the list all the way through 2025,” said Trayer.
Trayer said Scotts, which is attached to Climax, Galesburg, Kalamazoo-Parchment, the Kalamazoo main post office, Lawrence, Lawton, Mattawan, Otsego, Paw Paw, Plainwell, which is attached to Martin, Richland, and Vicksburg are off the S&DC list for now.
“As of three weeks ago I attended a meeting at the 9th Street facility for the kick off of their new S&DC. I’m less concerned about what’s going on there then I was before. The Post Officer person that was there from headquarters said that after a review of those 17 offices, they only could justify a return on investment by bringing in those three (Schoolcraft, Portage Milham Road branch, and Kalamazoo Westwood branch),” said Trayer.
He adds the East Leroy and Augusta Post Offices were never on the list under the original proposed plan.
Trayer said he was very pleased Climax Township Supervisor Trent Piper was the first local elected official to invite him to bring awareness about the Consolidation and Realignment Plan as a visitor at a Climax Township Board meeting in December, 2022. He feels the awareness and a December, 2022 Climax Crescent article helped slow the process down.
Climax is the location recognized as having the first rural free delivery in Michigan and the location of the first rural free delivery carrier monument.
The United States Postal Service’s Sorting and Deliver Center (S&DC) consolidation and realignment plan that would have impacted the Climax, Scotts, Galesburg and other area post offices, is on hold for now at a majority of those post offices according to a representative from the National Association of Postal Supervisors (NAPS) which represents supervisors, managers, and postmasters who work within the United States Postal Service.
Kevin Trayer, Michiana Area Vice President of the National Association of Postal Supervisors serving in Michigan and Indiana, said under the proposed plan local rural route carriers from 17 offices in the Kalamazoo Processing and Distribution Center (P&DC) including Climax, Scotts and Galesburg, would drive to the Oshtemo facility to get their sorted mail and then return to their local areas to deliver mail beginning June 1.
Trayer said all delivery units from the Schoolcraft Post Office, Portage Post Office branch on Milham Road, and Kalamazoo Westwood branch on Drake Road are moving into the 9th Street Oshtemo facility starting June 1. The rural route drivers will be shuttled from the 9th Street facility to their home base post offices and then shuttled back at the end of the day May 31 before beginning a routine of driving to the facility in Oshtemo to sort and pick up mail and return to deliver mail in a Post Office vehicle.
The Climax, Scotts, and Galesburg Post Offices were included on the list of 17 local post offices on the S&DC, but Trayer said the plan has changed after it was determined the move wouldn’t be cost effective.
“Those 14 other offices have been taken off the list all the way through 2025,” said Trayer.
Trayer said Scotts, which is attached to Climax, Galesburg, Kalamazoo-Parchment, the Kalamazoo main post office, Lawrence, Lawton, Mattawan, Otsego, Paw Paw, Plainwell, which is attached to Martin, Richland, and Vicksburg are off the S&DC list for now.
“As of three weeks ago I attended a meeting at the 9th Street facility for the kick off of their new S&DC. I’m less concerned about what’s going on there then I was before. The Post Officer person that was there from headquarters said that after a review of those 17 offices, they only could justify a return on investment by bringing in those three (Schoolcraft, Portage Milham Road branch, and Kalamazoo Westwood branch),” said Trayer.
He adds the East Leroy and Augusta Post Offices were never on the list under the original proposed plan.
Trayer said he was very pleased Climax Township Supervisor Trent Piper was the first local elected official to invite him to bring awareness about the Consolidation and Realignment Plan as a visitor at a Climax Township Board meeting in December, 2022. He feels the awareness and a December, 2022 Climax Crescent article helped slow the process down.
Climax is the location recognized as having the first rural free delivery in Michigan and the location of the first rural free delivery carrier monument.
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