Sunriver Residents & Visitors Threatened by Possibility of Sunriver Post Office Closure…
I’m a Realtor with Prudential Northwest Properties (now Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Northwest Real Estate Sunriver) located in The Village at Sunriver and I’m also a Sunriver Resident. Of course, when there is talk of something major happening like the Sunriver Post Office being closed, my ears perk up. Newly elected SROA board member Roger Smith spread word via email of a informational meeting regarding the closure of the Sunriver Post Office, I decided I’d better attend.
The meeting was held in the Great Hall at Sunriver Resort by Wayne Kinney, a field rep for Oregon Senator Ron Wyden on Tuesday September 13th. Somewhere upwards of 100 interested parties were in attendance, most I recognized as Sunriver Homeowners. Not being totally sure what to expect from the meeting, the overall tone was informational. Mr. Kinney delivered concise information to attendees about the status of the closure proceedings and how the closure could be prevented.
According to Kinney, questionnaires will be sent out to current Sunriver Post Office customers regarding the closure. It was made clear that filling these questionnaires out and returning them promptly would be the first step in bringing the possible closure to a halt. After the questionnaire process the USPS will schedule a meeting for the Sunriver community in regards to the closure proceedings. It was urged by field rep Kenney that concerned parties need to ensure a ideal meeting time to ensure a large turnout. In addition to a agreeable meeting time Kenney said it would be important for Post Office closure opponents to speak with a clear and unified voice. It is clear that the leaders in the room would ensure that concerned parties would be notified of future meeting times etc… A meeting date of sometime in October was mentioned. It was stated that this is a federal issue, meaning that state reps have little, if anything to do with the closure proceedings. All communication will need to be directed to the USPS as well as federal representatives.
Interesting moments and information pulled from the meeting included…
- The Sunriver Post Office is indeed profitable.
- The Post Office in Sunriver does business with people in the area as well as visitors from all over.
- The Sunriver Post Office serves the largest community out of all of the Post Offices on the USPS potential closure list.
- The USPS has been separated from the Federal Government for over 40 years.
- A minimalist “solution” set forth by the USPS would be to install aluminum mail boxes to replace the closed Post Offices themselves.
- Voting in Oregon would be affected in a major way since we rely on mail service for voting in Oregon.
- A Post Master in Central Oregon commented after seeing Sunriver on the proposed closure list that it must be a mistake.
Lots more information was disseminated from the meeting and this is more of a brief in case you missed it and were interested as to what transpired at the meeting. Please leave comments below and let others know what you think and how you feel. A few handouts were passed out at the meeting by field rep Kenney. I’ve linked them below in PDF format for your information and reference. The PDF attachments include a letter from United States Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, United States Congressmen Earl Blumenauer, Kurt Schrader and Peter DeFazio voicing concern over the proposed Post Office closings. The Federal law relating to rural Post Offices. The Federal law regarding the Post Office closure process. Please let me know if you have any issues viewing the documents i’d be happy to email them to you… Email: khoak@bhhsnw.com
Website: www.SunriverRealEstateNews.com
UPDATE:A meeting has been scheduled for October 3rd, time and location TBD. Also, a petition (in addition to the questionnaires being sent out) has been placed at numerous Sunriver area businesses. Sunriver Post Office customers are encouraged to sign the petition. You do not need to have a PO Box in order to be considered a member of the Sunriver Post Office, only need to do business with the Sunriver Post Office in some way IE buy stamps, mail a letter etc… Petition locations are as follows;
- SROA Administration Office
- Blondie’s
- Country Store
- Sunriver Area Library
- Chamber of Commerce
- Crossroads Station
- Artists’ Gallery of Sunriver
- Summit Express
- The Second Tern
- Hammertime Hardware