Postal official says changes won't affect service
By Christian Richardson Journal staff writer | Posted: Thursday, April 20, 2006
Doug Morrow, Hawkeye District manager for the USPS in Des Moines, said an Area Mail Processing study shows consolidation of processing centers. (Staff photo by Tim Hynds)
A U.S. Postal Service official said area residents won't see delivery delays if a proposal to consolidate Sioux City's mail processing center with Sioux Falls facility is approved.
Doug Morrow, Hawkeye District manager for the USPS in Des Moines, said an Area Mail Processing study conducted on the Sioux City Mail Processing and Distribution Center examined if consolidation would aid delivery -- and the study showed that it would.
"We are all about service and we wouldn't do anything that would hurt that service," Morrow said.
Morrow is in Sioux City today for a two-hour town hall meeting set to begin at 10 a.m. at the Sioux City Convention Center, 801 Fourth Street. The public is invited to attend.
The crowd will learn the reason for the feasibility study that examined the distribution center, hear a presentation on the proposed scenario of the study and have a chance to ask questions.
Representatives of the U.S. Postal Service, including Morrow, Clem Felchle -- district manager for South Dakota, North Dakota and Northwest Minnesota -- and Brad Schetzsle, senior manager of post office operations in the Hawkeye District, will attend.
Members of the offices of U.S. Sens. Charles Grassley, Tom Harkin and U.S. Rep. Steve King, as well as Sioux City government officials and members of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce, have been invited.
Town hall patrons will be able to view a one-page AMP study summary. Copies of the complete study were given to Harkin, Grassley and King; however, the full report will not be made public, Morrow said.
Staff members of Northwest Iowa's congressional delegation were briefed Monday on the process and the results of the U.S. Postal Service study.
The proposed plan would take outgoing mail to Sioux Falls for distribution and air transportation, Morrow said. Only a small percentage will have to return to Sioux City for delivery, he said.
Currently outgoing mail is transported from Sioux City, sent to Omaha where it is loaded on ground and air transportation, and eventually delivered to its final destination, Morrow said.
Incoming mail will still be brought to Sioux City and processed here, he said.
For advocates of the Sioux City distribution center the town hall meeting has been a work in progress that began when local postal union members began holding informational protests in December.
Morrow said the town hall meeting is due to residents and congressional delegates wanting to be heard as well as the union's spreading misinformation about alleged changes to delivery, the postmark and collection times.
In the past AMP studies have been approved before the USPS meets with residents, Morrow said. This meeting will provide a chance to clear the erroneous information and let people know their services won't suffer, he said.
"Hopefully any of their concerns will be put to rest as far as any service issues," he said.
A one-page study summary obtained by the Journal shows a proposal to shift 366,941 pieces of First-Class mail to Sioux Falls for processing, with 17,710 pieces of mail receiving an upgrade from 2-day to overnight delivery, and 47 career USPS employees being reassigned to other positions.
There will be no changes to local collection times and the local postmark will be available for stamped First-Class mail, the summary states.
Top USPS officials in Washington, D.C., would have to approve the plans before the changes would take place, Morrow said. Before that would take place, all concerns brought forward today must be addressed, he said.
The feasibility study is part of a national effort to look at how the postal service can address the shifting mail volume and improve efficiency. The studies have taken place as mailing habits have changed with the use of the Internet and express delivery companies, Morrow said.
"All of those changes impact our work load," he said.
The USPS is conducting AMP studies on 50 of its 450 facilities through a process similar to the one that took centers in Sheldon, Iowa, and Spencer, Iowa, and consolidated them in 1992 in Sioux City.
Jim Price, president of the American Postal Workers Union Local 186 has expressed skepticism over the feasibility study on the Sioux City distribution center. Price contends that currently mail is next-day in Sioux City but would not be if it is sent to Sioux Falls.
The union has previously stated a consolidation to Sioux Falls would result in the loss of Sioux City's postmark, delayed delivery, earlier collection times and loss of jobs that would impact the local economy.
Doug Morrow, Hawkeye District manager for the USPS in Des Moines, said an Area Mail Processing study conducted on the Sioux City Mail Processing and Distribution Center examined if consolidation would aid delivery -- and the study showed that it would.
"We are all about service and we wouldn't do anything that would hurt that service," Morrow said.
Morrow is in Sioux City today for a two-hour town hall meeting set to begin at 10 a.m. at the Sioux City Convention Center, 801 Fourth Street. The public is invited to attend.
The crowd will learn the reason for the feasibility study that examined the distribution center, hear a presentation on the proposed scenario of the study and have a chance to ask questions.
Representatives of the U.S. Postal Service, including Morrow, Clem Felchle -- district manager for South Dakota, North Dakota and Northwest Minnesota -- and Brad Schetzsle, senior manager of post office operations in the Hawkeye District, will attend.
Members of the offices of U.S. Sens. Charles Grassley, Tom Harkin and U.S. Rep. Steve King, as well as Sioux City government officials and members of the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce, have been invited.
Town hall patrons will be able to view a one-page AMP study summary. Copies of the complete study were given to Harkin, Grassley and King; however, the full report will not be made public, Morrow said.
Staff members of Northwest Iowa's congressional delegation were briefed Monday on the process and the results of the U.S. Postal Service study.
The proposed plan would take outgoing mail to Sioux Falls for distribution and air transportation, Morrow said. Only a small percentage will have to return to Sioux City for delivery, he said.
Currently outgoing mail is transported from Sioux City, sent to Omaha where it is loaded on ground and air transportation, and eventually delivered to its final destination, Morrow said.
Incoming mail will still be brought to Sioux City and processed here, he said.
For advocates of the Sioux City distribution center the town hall meeting has been a work in progress that began when local postal union members began holding informational protests in December.
Morrow said the town hall meeting is due to residents and congressional delegates wanting to be heard as well as the union's spreading misinformation about alleged changes to delivery, the postmark and collection times.
In the past AMP studies have been approved before the USPS meets with residents, Morrow said. This meeting will provide a chance to clear the erroneous information and let people know their services won't suffer, he said.
"Hopefully any of their concerns will be put to rest as far as any service issues," he said.
A one-page study summary obtained by the Journal shows a proposal to shift 366,941 pieces of First-Class mail to Sioux Falls for processing, with 17,710 pieces of mail receiving an upgrade from 2-day to overnight delivery, and 47 career USPS employees being reassigned to other positions.
There will be no changes to local collection times and the local postmark will be available for stamped First-Class mail, the summary states.
Top USPS officials in Washington, D.C., would have to approve the plans before the changes would take place, Morrow said. Before that would take place, all concerns brought forward today must be addressed, he said.
The feasibility study is part of a national effort to look at how the postal service can address the shifting mail volume and improve efficiency. The studies have taken place as mailing habits have changed with the use of the Internet and express delivery companies, Morrow said.
"All of those changes impact our work load," he said.
The USPS is conducting AMP studies on 50 of its 450 facilities through a process similar to the one that took centers in Sheldon, Iowa, and Spencer, Iowa, and consolidated them in 1992 in Sioux City.
Jim Price, president of the American Postal Workers Union Local 186 has expressed skepticism over the feasibility study on the Sioux City distribution center. Price contends that currently mail is next-day in Sioux City but would not be if it is sent to Sioux Falls.
The union has previously stated a consolidation to Sioux Falls would result in the loss of Sioux City's postmark, delayed delivery, earlier collection times and loss of jobs that would impact the local economy.
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