WOODFORD - A meeting with a U.S. Post Office official last week did not comfort Woodford residents concerned about the pending closure of their post office.
"A lot of questions did not get answered," said Marcia Foley, who waiting for some of those answers to come back via their post office.
"When we asked them, why Woodford, they said the revenue is not there," Foley said.
Woodford is on Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe's list of nearly 3,700 potential post office closures by the end of the year.
The post office in the unincorporated village of about 60 to 70 people has no rural delivery routes. Those routes come out of neighboring villages' post offices.
The post office, with one employee, handles postage stamp sales and accepts out-going mail, including boxes. The post office boxes are for the village residents to receive their mail.
The nationwide closures and other proposals under consideration, such as reducing service to five days a week, are necessary to close a $20 billion gap in revenue by 2015, according to Donahoe.
Most of the post offices being studied for closure have little foot traffic and average sales are less than $50 a day, according to the Postal Service.
But Woodford post office users say a recent survey by the Postal Service does not accurately reflect the status of their use.
"I feel the numbers are being misconstrued," said Mia Holverson, another Woodford Post Office user.
According to Holverson, the revenues and usage of the Woodford post office is being calculated by only the mail with Woodford's 53599 zip code. Mail with Browntown and South Wayne zip codes is credited to those villages' post office.
Holverson has a Browntown address and rural delivery. She lives just three miles from Woodford and uses that post office because it better fits her work schedule. She said her mail is being handled in Woodford, but credited to Browntown's post office.
"It's not a true picture," she said.
Lovelace Well Drilling and Pump Company, on County M south of Woodford, is on a rural delivery route out of Argyle. The company ships water samples daily, but after 2 p.m., samples are taken to Woodford Post Office.
Those mailings are credited to Argyle, Holverson said.
Woodford State Bank sends out thousands of bank statements each month through the post office, but because the bank uses metered postage, none of it is counted in the revenue, Holverson said.
"They are counting only the revenue that comes through the door," she said.
Foley said many people who attended the meeting Oct. 26 claimed rural delivery is not on a predictable schedule and questioned the Postal Service's ability to efficiently handle their needs if the Woodford post office is closed.
To replace the 56 post office boxes in town, "they are going to put up cluster boxes," Foley said. "But people asked, am I going to have to go the to mail box two or three times a day just to see if the mail has come?"
Holverson said delivery can vary as much as two hours.
"They said certified mail can be done by the carrier, but at what time?" she said.
Holverson believes the volume of mail going into and out of the Woodford post office is going to be more than the current rural carrier can handle, and the post office will be forced to hire another carrier - a cost the post office is trying to get away from.
Although revenues at the post office were up last month, Holverson and Foley said Postal Service officials believe those numbers were skewed.
"I'm sure we started using it more since this came about," Holverson said. "But we didn't realize how much we needed it until it was going to be lost."
Holverson said she walked away feeling the meeting was a "snow job."
"I feel the decision has been made, and they were there to hold out hands and tell us what we wanted to hear, but it's a done deal," she said.
About 200 people signed a petition to keep the post office open, which Foley said was handed in at the meeting. They have to wait 30 days for a reply.
"A lot of questions did not get answered," said Marcia Foley, who waiting for some of those answers to come back via their post office.
"When we asked them, why Woodford, they said the revenue is not there," Foley said.
Woodford is on Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe's list of nearly 3,700 potential post office closures by the end of the year.
The post office in the unincorporated village of about 60 to 70 people has no rural delivery routes. Those routes come out of neighboring villages' post offices.
The post office, with one employee, handles postage stamp sales and accepts out-going mail, including boxes. The post office boxes are for the village residents to receive their mail.
The nationwide closures and other proposals under consideration, such as reducing service to five days a week, are necessary to close a $20 billion gap in revenue by 2015, according to Donahoe.
Most of the post offices being studied for closure have little foot traffic and average sales are less than $50 a day, according to the Postal Service.
But Woodford post office users say a recent survey by the Postal Service does not accurately reflect the status of their use.
"I feel the numbers are being misconstrued," said Mia Holverson, another Woodford Post Office user.
According to Holverson, the revenues and usage of the Woodford post office is being calculated by only the mail with Woodford's 53599 zip code. Mail with Browntown and South Wayne zip codes is credited to those villages' post office.
Holverson has a Browntown address and rural delivery. She lives just three miles from Woodford and uses that post office because it better fits her work schedule. She said her mail is being handled in Woodford, but credited to Browntown's post office.
"It's not a true picture," she said.
Lovelace Well Drilling and Pump Company, on County M south of Woodford, is on a rural delivery route out of Argyle. The company ships water samples daily, but after 2 p.m., samples are taken to Woodford Post Office.
Those mailings are credited to Argyle, Holverson said.
Woodford State Bank sends out thousands of bank statements each month through the post office, but because the bank uses metered postage, none of it is counted in the revenue, Holverson said.
"They are counting only the revenue that comes through the door," she said.
Foley said many people who attended the meeting Oct. 26 claimed rural delivery is not on a predictable schedule and questioned the Postal Service's ability to efficiently handle their needs if the Woodford post office is closed.
To replace the 56 post office boxes in town, "they are going to put up cluster boxes," Foley said. "But people asked, am I going to have to go the to mail box two or three times a day just to see if the mail has come?"
Holverson said delivery can vary as much as two hours.
"They said certified mail can be done by the carrier, but at what time?" she said.
Holverson believes the volume of mail going into and out of the Woodford post office is going to be more than the current rural carrier can handle, and the post office will be forced to hire another carrier - a cost the post office is trying to get away from.
Although revenues at the post office were up last month, Holverson and Foley said Postal Service officials believe those numbers were skewed.
"I'm sure we started using it more since this came about," Holverson said. "But we didn't realize how much we needed it until it was going to be lost."
Holverson said she walked away feeling the meeting was a "snow job."
"I feel the decision has been made, and they were there to hold out hands and tell us what we wanted to hear, but it's a done deal," she said.
About 200 people signed a petition to keep the post office open, which Foley said was handed in at the meeting. They have to wait 30 days for a reply.