Residents from Neville and surrounding towns filled the Neville Free Will Baptist Church to defend their post office and question USPS representatives about the potential closing.
“The last thing we want to be doing in a community is saying we want to take away your post office,” Bob Redden, a long-time post master and USPS spokesperson said.
But Redden said USPS has reached a time of crisis. They have lost billions of dollars in the last few years, primarily due to a decline in first class mail, and can no longer afford to keep borrowing money for offices that don’t come close to breaking even.
He said they have seen mail decline by 43.1 billion pieces and have had 200 million less customer visits. In addition, they are in a hiring freeze and have left open positions unfilled.
“You can’t keep drawing out more than you bring in,” Redden said. “Looking at this post office is just one thing the postal service is trying to do.”
In addition to the Neville and Chilo post offices, which are being studied in Clermont County, USPS is looking at a host of other offices across the nation. Redden said this is not limited to small town offices. He said bigger offices like College Hill, North Dayton, both in Ohio, and Ft. Thomas, Ky. are also up for consideration.
In addition, Redden explained that just because Neville and other offices are on the list, it does not mean they will be closed. A final decision will be made at postal headquarters after a package is put together locally with all of the study results, including public input and suggestions.
This information didn’t make residents any more comfortable with the idea, however, and many expressed their concerns at the meeting.
“It’s easy to say it is a small community,” Paul Saunders, of Neville, said. “But we’re already handicapped.”
Saunders brought up the point that many residents living in Neville don’t have Internet access and can’t use the online services Redden discussed at the meeting.
And while Redden agreed that the lack of Internet access would be a hindrance, he also discussed how a mail carrier would in a sense replace the post master in the community. He said the mail carrier is able to sell residents stamps, pick up and deliver packages, come to their door and more.
“Rural carriers do a lot of good,” Redden said.
Residents questioned the schedule of the carriers, how far they would drive back to a house, and what they could do to ensure they get important pieces of mail on time.
“One of the big problems is the sense of isolation everyone is starting to feel,” Mary Rutledge, of Neville, said. “The post office is a life-line for us.”
Other residents added that everything else in the town was gone, they have no gas station, grocery store or coffee shop and the post office has become a place where they can talk to people and feel a sense of community.
While Redden was sympathetic to their feelings about the post office and their post master, who many have residents have become good friends with, he said USPS is fighting to stay alive as a public organization.
When it comes to numbers, Redden said closing the office would save nearly $350,000 in a 10-year period, and closing a number of the non-productive offices will help USPS chip away at their yearly losses.
“It’s bad to have to come into a community like this, but we’re just trying to stay afloat,” Redden said.