Major postal problems in the town of Spreckels
SPRECKELS, Calif. (KION) - A change in hours at the Spreckels post office has caused frustration among residents in Spreckels.
The hours now run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and if people can't make it during that 5-hour window, they're out of luck. Residents are now calling on federal leaders to help pull back the hours the post office once had.
"All of a sudden, there was a notice on the door and that was it. No town meeting, anything like that. This sign on the front door of the post office is how USPS delivered the news to local residents that their post office will start closing earlier than normal," said Jim Riley, who lives in Spreckels.
The post office is a vital hub in the Spreckels community.
"I just got my property tax bill notice. It says, 'Please use your post office box number.' This is the Monterey County government sending me a property tax bill in Spreckels," said Riley. "They should know that Spreckels in 120-something years has never, ever had home mail delivery."
That's right — other neighboring towns in Monterey like Carmel-by-the-Sea and Big Sur, don't have home mail delivery and rely on their local postal office for mail.
"It's horrible to make all these people pick up their packages somewhere else. For me not to be able to come and get my mail or buy my stamps," said Sue, who lives in Spreckels.
People tell KION they have bills to pay, checks to pick up and for some, critical medication they receive from the post office. And this time change will make it difficult for them to receive all that.
"One big concern is being a town with a lot of elderly people in it. A lot of people get their meds by mail. And that causes a big problem. And meds have to be taken and received regularly," said Riley.
KION emailed USPS as to why they changed the hours and if the new schedule will be temporary.
In an email, they simply said their reason was to, "accommodate for early pick-up by residents." They sent a link with a line saying the hours were permanent.
Congressman Jimmy Panetta says he has heard the concerns of his constituents:
"I went into the post office and met with the postal worker that's in there right now to gather more information and to get the evidence so that I can then make an accurate assessment as to what the potential solutions will be going forward. We have some more work to do when it comes to speaking to more constituents, but also speaking to the postmaster and the postmaster supervisor so that we can come to an appropriate solution," said Jimmy Panetta, a U.S. representative.
Now, residents are hoping this flag stays up past 2 p.m.
"There's changes to the post office and it's one of those things we have to adapt to," said Rick Gutierrez, who also lives in Spreckels.
Jimmy Panetta says he is going to see what the best hours are to fit the needs of the community, and possibly even install lockers to fit larger packages.
