A petition to keep the local United States post office open sits in the lobby during business hours at the post office in Brookdale.
Forty-two-year Brookdale resident Leslie Sanchez has been collecting signatures from locals who receive their mail at the rural office, in response to a rumor that the office could be shut in May, when the United States Postal Service lifts a moratorium on branch closures.
“Not so,” said Gus Ruiz, USPS spokesman. “Brookdale is not even on our list.”
A district manager based in Oakland will make decisions about closures, and Ruiz said there are no post offices in the San Lorenzo Valley on the list.
“Everything (on the list) is in San Jose or the East Bay,” he said.
According to USPS.com, the postal service has 31,871 branches nationwide and is studying 3,330 offices to be closed. Originally, the number stood at more than 3,600, but some have been removed from the list.
The postal service was originally looking to close branches nationwide in December and January, but political pressure resulted in a six-month moratorium that expires in May. At that point, USPS leaders will decide the fate of the 3,330 offices in question, including 112 in California.
Scotts Valley, Felton, Ben Lomond, Mount Hermon and Brookdale are not on the list at this time, but smaller post offices, like Brookdale, are on the lookout.
According to postal service watchdog SaveThePostOffice.com, 20 post offices closed in California in 2011, but none in Santa Cruz County.
This year, 112 post offices are being studied or are slated for closure or to have their operations moved into pharmacies and retail stores, such as Walgreens and Costco.
None of the offices on the list is in Santa Cruz County; the nearest are in San Jose and Oakland.
The postal service is working to resolve a $5.5 billion deficit related to postal employee benefits and a large reduction in revenue because of the decline in the amount of mail it processes.
In 2001, according to postal service records, it handled 207.5 billion pieces of mail. By 2010, that number had declined to 171 billion pieces of mail.
At the same time, the postal service is moving away from brick-and-mortar post offices. Services provided by many of the branches slated for closure could move into retail stores, pharmacies and grocers as privately contracted “village post offices.” Such offices would sell stamps and flat-rate packaging.
Sanchez has heard that the post office in Brookdale and its 700 post office boxes could be slated for closure and was concerned, she said, because the town does not have street delivery.
Recently, the North Palm Springs post office closed — an office without street delivery, similar to Brookdale.
Sanchez is collecting signatures to protest the possibility of closing the Brookdale office.
“There are under 200 (signatures) so far, but it’s only out when the post office is open, and it’s not in a prominent spot,” she said.
Sanchez has also contacted Rep. Anna Eshoo’s office about the issue.
Brookdale postmaster Toni Couch said that’s the best course of action.
“The best thing people can do is contact their representative and say ‘we don’t want our post office to close,’” she said.
At a glance
A complete list of California post offices being considered for closure can be found online at http://about.usps.com/news/electronic-press-kits/expandedaccess/states/california.htm .
