By Gary Lloyd
A community meeting to determine the future of the Clay Post Office is scheduled for Thursday at the Clay Community Center on Clay-Palmerdale Road at 6 p.m.
The United States Postal Service will answer questions and provide additional information about its future plans. Local management will share the results of a survey and answer questions
. The Postal Service will not make a final decision regarding the Clay Post Office until after the public meeting.
Options listed on a public notice include:
- Keep the office open, based on actual office workload. In the case of the Clay Post Office, hours would be reduced from 6.3 hours each weekday to six hours per weekday. Current Saturday hours will not change as a result of POST Plan and access to delivery receptacles will not be impacted by POST Plan.
- Conduct a discontinuance study for the office and offer roadside mailbox delivery. Retail and delivery service would be provided through a rural carrier. Mail delivery points will be established and customers can purchase most postal services through the carrier or other alternate access points.
- Conduct a discontinuance study for the office and find a suitable alternative location operated by a contractor, usually at a local business. When businesses are found that meet the criteria, these establishments are contracted through the U.S. Postal Service and offer stamps and flat rate products with service hours generally more expansive than what the local post office will be able to offer.
- Conduct a discontinuance study for the office and provide P.O. Box service via another nearby post office and relocate P.O. Box delivery to that post office.
The Clay and Palmerdale post offices were on a May 2012 list to have the window hours cut back.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.