Postmaster pulls back on original plan for curbside delivery
Acting Rogers City postmaster Rob Gross has redefined the areas for curbside delivery service. Gross sent out letters to more than 300 postal customers telling them he was implementing route changes which would mean they would soon only be getting mail in a postmaster-approved mailbox at their curb. But now he is saying disregard the letters. Gross had hoped to start the changeover next month but after a firestorm of comments from angry citizens, mostly at a Rogers City Council meeting Monday morning, Gross has pulled back from his original proposal.
Under consideration are customers in the Brege Drive subdivision, and South Seventh and South Sixth Street residents from south of Orchard Street. A section of Third Street between Park Drive and Dueltgen, as well as Morley and Virgilene customers, are being targeted. The other affected locations are Margot, Franklin, John, Susie Lane, Charles and portions of Marquette and Birchwood west of Linden. The citizens were a ?driving force? in Gross rethinking his position and deciding it?s too many homes to begin Phase 1 with.
?I COULD PUSH this on the community,? said Gross in the postmaster?s office Monday afternoon in Rogers City, ?but I want the community on my side.? Post office staff will meet with residents at their home and get approval from those citizens who are willing to change their delivery service.
?The post office will pay for and install the boxes of those who wish to participate,? said Gross, who will be involved in the installation himself. He?ll be purchasing the mailboxes from Rogers City ACE Hardware, the Do It Center, and Grulke?s Hardware. In some cases this will mean that a customer may receive earlier deliveries.
The original idea was proposed after Gross inspected the city routes and determined there were major safety concerns with the delivery methods. In some areas there are no sidewalks for carriers to walk on, so they have to walk in the street in order to deliver the mail.
GROSS STILL would like to move forward with ?Plan A,? of curbside delivery for all customers, except for the core downtown area, by 2005. Gross, who is the postmaster in Hawks, faced a packed council chambers at city hall in Rogers City. Seats had to be brought in to accommodate what mayor Beach Hall said was the largest crowd at a council meeting in his tenure. And nearly everyone was there to hear what Gross had to say about the curbside delivery. Most of the vocal citizens didn?t mince words in voicing their opposition to his plan. Before having to answer questions from the more than 30 people, Gross outlined the safety issues facing his walking carriers.
?In the wintertime, they are walking in the street and the streets are covered with ice and snow,? he said. ?Every year I have ?slip and trips? that are reported ? at least two per year. ?In the summertime the issues that we see more often is the dog issues. I had a carrier walking a route in 1995 who was bit by a dog on the kneecap. He cannot stand more than four hours a day.? Workers? compensation now pays him for the four hours a day he can?t work, which comes to $20,000 a year. ?That?s a huge bill for an office of this size,? said Gross.
THERE IS a postal service transformation plan which would consolidate small offices and plants, but needs to be approved by Congress, Gross said. There was discussion of the five day delivery, and not providing service on Wednesday, but that proposal fell through. ?They didn?t vote for that, thank goodness,? said Gross. ?The upside,? he said, ?I am asking the residents of Rogers City to help this post office be a success. The postal service is in some dire straights. We have made the promise to our customers that we would not raise rates above 37 cents for a first class envelope, up to an ounce, until the year 2006. ?We need to find avenues to reach this goal, because since we made that commitment to the customers, our mail volume has depleted. You?re getting less mail at your house and people are mailing less mail.?
RESIDENTS FROM South First Street to D?Vincent voiced their objections to the plan. ?We have to walk the streets too,? said Joe Belusar. ?What?s the difference?? ?If you walk the street, you are under your own responsibility. My carriers are being forced to walk the street on a daily basis,? Gross responded. ?It?s not safe for them to walk in the road.? ?It?s the same thing I have to do when I go to the store,? said Belusar.
After a couple of questions, it was apparent to Hall that citizen comments were turning into a question and answer session for Gross, so he rapped his gavel to quiet down the audience. ?If all of you are going to have equal questions, we are going to have a longer than usual council meeting,? said Hall. ?We?re delighted you?re here. We?re beginning to move off of information into debate. It?s not something that?s debatable to the city council.? Hall suggested a separate town hall meeting, for which there are no plans.
RETIRED POSTAL carrier Ed Mulka of Rogers City had a concern for elderly residents. ?They can?t stand the stress of this proposed setup,? said Mulka. ?It?s the carriers? duties to perform their duties.?
?I think this is an aggressive move in Rogers City, which is predominantly elderly, unable to cope with this stress,? added Mulka. ?Look at the other side of the picture.? Mulka said he knows of 12 people who live close to him who are over 80 and have to hire people to do yard work for them, and a curbside mailbox would make it difficult for them to get their mail, especially in the winter.
?My wife has a pacemaker. I?ve got an open heart surgery,? Mulka continued. ?Everybody is in the same fix. Give a little compassion beyond the dollar sign.?
SUSAN BREGE of D?Vincent Streets informed Gross that a petition drive opposing the changes was started with more than 40 signatures in half a week, and more to come she promised. ?It should be a perk for living in the city,? said Brege of the mail service.
It also was suggested that the postmaster should have surveyed the neighborhoods and provided questionnaires before sending out the letter. Herb Summers of West Ontario Avenue said he moved to Rogers City because it?s a ?beautiful place? to live but the mailbox posts would make the town look ?gaudy.?
?You put those mailboxes do
Kathy Gabara suggested Gross ?look into the question of discrimination against people without sidewalks.?
?THIS IS NOT a discrimination issue,? said Gross. ?This is a safety issue.? ?This is not a new thing to this community,? said Gross. ?The comment was made, how come Cheboygan?s not doing this, how come Alpena is not doing this,? said Gross. ?Cheboygan has letters going out this week to customers.?
There also are areas within Rogers City which already have rural curbside service, Gross noted.