WELD — The U.S. Postal Service will hold a meeting at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, July 29, at the Weld Post Office at 22 Mill St. to hear concerns from people about the proposed reduction of office hours from eight to four on weekdays.
The post office is open four hours on Saturdays.
The U.S. Postal Service announced in 2012 it is reducing hours at thousands of rural post offices around the country to try to run more efficiently. A list of post offices was released in 2012 and Weld was on it.
The Weld Board of Selectmen is asking residents to show up at the meeting to voice concerns about reduced hours.
The U.S. Postal Service officials will listen to concerns of Weld residents in order to help them determine the future of post office in town, according to the board’s information. The board said in a letter they are concerned that the postal officials have already determined to reduce the hours of operation without consulting the folks in town.
“If left to their own devices, they may just as easily close it all together,” the letter states.
The small town has a large seasonal population.
“In the summer, our numbers swell to a few thousand folks,” the letter states.
Selectmen hope to capitalize on the meeting being held at a time when summer residents are present.
They want the residents to fill the small lobby at the post office to let postal officials know how much the people in the area care about the post office.
Among the number of factors selectmen feel are important to communicate to the Postal Service, besides the town having a large seasonal population, is that Weld has a large percentage of aging citizens and the next-nearest post office is 15 miles away, with no public transportation available. Road conditions in winter months could make postal service inaccessible to residents if the Weld office closed.
Selectmen believe that Postal Service needs to consider that the reduction in hours will have a negative effect on residents’ quality of life, along with the vitality and valuation of the town, the letter states.
The selectmen’s letter also includes a chant that highlights the zip code: “Oh-four-two-eight-five, keep our post office alive.”
dperry@sunjournal.com
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