A multi-million dollar proposal to modernize the Grand Junction Post Office has Western Colorado residents concerned about delays in service.
Officials from the United States Post Office were in Grand Junction, Thursday, to take public comment on the proposal, which would see Grand Junction move from a regional processing and distribution to a local processing center. That would include upgrades to facilities and equipment, but also changes for how the region's mail is processed.
“This facility is not closing. It will not be closing, and there will not be any career employee layoffs as a result of this initiative,” Felipe Flores, the western division senior director of processing operations, told a crowd of more than 100.
Flores did acknowledge that, if approved, the plan would result in the reassignment of more than 30 career positions. And he did not address non-career employee impacts, a concern raised by Grand Junction Mayor Anna Stout.
“We hear again the reassurances about no career job losses, but those pre-career jobs have not been quantified, not to me as a local government representative. I need to know what is this going to do to our local economy,” Stout said.
The largest topic of discussion, however, had to do a plan that would send local mail to Denver for processing. Flores said only about 10% of the mail through the Grand Junction facility is local mail. Many Western Colorado residents were worried about delays. And Montrose County Clerk Tressa Guynes said any delays around the election could be significant.
“Those people that vote their ballot and mail it back to us, that goes to Montrose County. If it's one day late, that ballot does not count, that vote does not count. So the voter loses their opportunity to vote,” Guynes said.
During the presentation, Flores said local mail would still be processed efficiently, which drew scoffs from the crowd. Residents made a number of references to closures in Glenwood Canyon and elsewhere on Interstate 70 through the Central Mountains.
“What I think is really giving our community consternation right now and our region consternation is that we're hearing assertions,” Stout said. “The math isn't working for us. We live in this community. I-70 math is very different than flat plains Kansas math.”
More information about the proposal can be found at usps.com/MPFR. Public comment is being accepted online through March 8 at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/mpfr-grand-junction-co
