Study: Closing East Gadsden Post Office would save $1.7 million over 10 years

Gadsden, Al.
Closing the East Gadsden Post Office would save the U.S. Postal Service $1.7 million over 10 years, according to a study.

The Postal Service is looking at closing the facility on U.S. Highway 278 in an effort to cut costs. It's among roughly 3,700 locations nationwide and 54 in Alabama that are being considered for closure.

The list was released in July and the Postal Service at the time said closing the offices would save it about $200 million annually.

The East Gadsden location has 768 post office boxes and 12,045 delivery route customers, according to the Postal Service.

A proposal to close the site obtained from the Postal Service said based on information gathered in the study, “the Postal Service concludes this proposal will not adversely affect the community and every effort will be made to maintain the identity.”

The study said, “Taking all available information into consideration, the Postal Service has determined that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages and this proposal is warranted.”

The study said the East Gadsden office had a decline of $35,445 in “walk-in revenue” from 2007 through 2010. It said revenue at the location dropped from $482,204 in 2007 to $446,759 in 2010, a decline of 7.3 percent.

The study said, “There are a number of alternate sites within a short radius of this office that can provide the sale of stamps and the mailing of most package items.”

In addition to the main Gadsden Post Office at 700 Chestnut St., which the study said was three miles away from the East Gadsden location, there are post offices in Glencoe at 107 East Main St, and in Alabama City at 211 N. 26th St.

Contract offices not operated by the Postal Service are at Food World in Rainbow City and Lawley Drugs in Southside.

The study said the savings for the Postal Service “contribute in the long run to stable postage rates and savings for customers.”

Advantages of the closure, according to the study, would be that rural and contract carriers could provide retail services, which would somewhat reduce the need for customers to go to the post office. Stamps by mail forms also are available for customer convenience. Disadvantages would be the loss of a retail outlet and a manager position in the community.

The study said customers would have to meet a rural or contract carrier at the box to transact business.

Thirty craft employees assigned to the unit would be relocated according to the national labor agreement with the postal union.

The study also noted that the facility has severe building deficiencies, including a leaking roof that drips on electrical wires and faulty plumbing that prevents water from draining in the sink.

A public hearing on the proposed closure was held Thursday evening at Gadsden Presbyterian Church, and the Postal Service is accepting written comments though Nov. 9. The comment form states “comments will be most helpful if they offer specific opinions and information favorable or unfavorable regarding the potential effect of the proposed change on postal services and on the community.”

 Copies of the closure proposal and comment forms are available upon request from the East Gadsden Post Office and the Gadsden Post Office.