Postal service posts Steptoe closure plan

The United States Postal Service posted in the lobby of the Steptoe post office Monday its plans to close the office and cancel the Steptoe zip code.

After receiving questionnaires and polling residents at a forum last month, the postal service has decided to ask the Postal Regulatory Commission to allow it to close the Steptoe office and move services to Colfax, with Steptoe residents receiving mail with a Colfax zip code.

Steptoe’s zip code is 99174.

“Taking all available information into consideration, the Postal Service has determined that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and this proposal is warranted,” wrote Carol Rebstock, Manager of Post Office Operations in Spokane.

Steptoe currently has a post office in the back of Cooper’s Corner antique store with 47 boxes where residents receive their mail. Since the retirement of Postmaster Donna Cooper in December 2009, the post office has staffed Steptoe with an interim employee.

Receipts for the post office were $19,367 in 2008, $12,024 in 2009 and $13,277 last year. Rebstock’s report says the office averages 11 retail transactions which account for 11 minutes of work per day.

Cooper’s retirement, the proposal states, prompted the postal service to consider closure of Steptoe.

Post offices in Latah, Viola, Waverly and Washtucna are also on the chopping block. The Washtucna office has been closed for over a year.

The plan replaces the Cooper’s Corner office with a cluster of outside boxes. The proposal notes mail will be accessible at any time, instead of when the post office boxes are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. during the week and 6 a.m. to noon Saturdays.

The plan also states it is seeking to contract with a local business to sell stamps and money orders, though it also says it may discontinue those services at Steptoe if the postal service does not receive a sufficient contract bid.

Order forms for stamps and money orders will be dropped off at the box cluster. The proposal also notes those products are available online.

Addresses will not be changed.

Of the 47 questionnaires sent to Steptoe postal customers, 22 were returned, with 16 opposed to the proposal and six with no opinion. Nobody was in favor of the proposal.

Rebstock’s proposal says the closure would save the postal service $29,094 every year by eliminating postmaster pay and benefits and lease payments less the cost of replacing the services. The proposal also notes a $4,800 cost to shut down the facility.

Some customers from last month’s forum worried the departure of the post office would cost Steptoe its identity.

“A community’s identity derives from the interest and vitality of its residents and their use of its name,” Rebstock wrote in response.

Residents have until September 11 to comment on the postal service’s pan.