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PO - US House Rep David Wu Letter - 07 19 2002 DAVID WU r COMMITTEES: - ' 1ST DISTRICT,OREGON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE 1023 LONGWORTH HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING 21ST CENTURY COMPETITIVENESS WASHINGTON,DC 20515-3702 TELEPHONE:(202)225-0855 SCIENCE 620 SOUTHWEST MAIN STREET ENERGY SUITE 606 ongregg of the Uniteb *tateg SPACE AND AERONAUTICS PORTLAND,OR 97205 TELEPHONE:(523)326-2901 (800)422-4003 wouge of tepreantatibeg CHAIR CONGRESSIONAL ASIAN PACIFIC http://vvww.house.gov/wu W&5bingtan, TQC 20515-3701 AMERICAN CAUCUS July 19, 2002 Elizabeth Newton City of Tigard 9585 SW 146th Terrace#4 Beaverton, OR 97007-6442 Dear Ms. Newton: I am writing once again regarding the City of Tigard's request for the Postal Service to consider service adjustments. Enclosed is the letter that I received from the Government Relations Representative, Jennifer Alvarez, in response to my inquiry on your behalf. I believe the letter provides the information you were seeking. In your letter, you requested the criteria used to establish independent post office facilities and a determination whether Tigard meets those criteria. According to the Postal Service there is no fixed minimum population requirement for establishing an independent post office. Local officials are responsible for postal services in a given area and establish independent and branch offices based on providing quality services to the region using the resources available. At this time, local officials believe the Tigard Branch Post Office provides quality service within the service area. You were interested in the modification to appropriate databases to accept Tigard, Oregon as a location tied to zip codes 97223, 97224, and 97281. Fortunately, the national address management database has already beer.—modified to allow the use of Tigard as an acceptable city for those zip codes. All mailers have the option of using Tigard as the address for those zip codes. You also requested enhanced bulk mail services at the Tigard Post Office to include weekday hours when bulk mail is reviewed and accepted for delivery. As you know, the Tigard Branch Post Office does accept bulk mail Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. According to the Postal Service, the only time mail is returned to a customer is when it is improperly prepared. The Postal Service feels confident that business customers are aware of proper mailing preparations when they apply for discount mailing privileges. Bundling and sorting the mail is what allows the post office to offer discounted prices to bulk mail customers. Finally, you suggested the Postal Service establish later weekday pickups for outgoing mail. The Postal Service states that it is common for the last pickup in a community to be between 5-5:30 p.m. Tigard's 6:00 p.m. deadline is one of the latest in the area. Local postal officials do not believe the added expense of extending the hours would benefit the number of customers necessary to make the expense practical. PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER I regret that my response cannot be more favorable and that I am unable to obtain the results you were seeking. However, the Postal Service is dealing with significantly declining resources. The Postal Service has faced continued shortages in funds since the emergence of the Internet, direct billing and deposit, and competitors. The Postal Service continues to search for ways to operate more efficiently, and branch closures and consolidations have been a nation- wide result. The Tigard Branch Post Office is far too important in this region to be concerned about potential cuts,but according to the Postal Service, the expanded services requested appear to be unattainable at this time. I hope this information is useful to you. Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I can be of further assistance to you. With warm regards, David Wu Member of Congress DW:rp Enclosure R GOVERNMENT RELATIONS RECEIVED v UNITEDPIECE' `_STATES_ E® POSTAL SERVICE 2002 JUL 01 David\A u,p1ALC. June 26, 2002 porgand,OR Honorable David Wu Member of Congress 620 SW Main Street, Suite 606 Portland, OfR 97205-3024 Dear Congressman Wu: This is in response to your June 12 letter on behalf of the City of Tigard Assistance to the City Manager Elizabeth A. Newton, regarding local postal services and mailing addresses. I appreciate your interest in assisting Ms. Newton and members of the Tigard community and the opportunity to address the issues raised. There is no fixed minimum population requirement for establishing an independent post office; however, Portland District officials responsible for postal operations in the area believe that Tigard residences are already receiving quality service. There are no plans to convert the Tigard Branch Post Office to associate office status. Mailing addresses, including the city name and ZIP Code, direct customers' mail to the proper delivery office serving that address. In some areas, these addresses correspond exactly to local municipal or community boundaries, but there are many instances throughout the country where mailing addresses, including the assigned ZIP Code, overlap formal or informal boundaries. In some cases, such as this one, customers residing in different localities share a five-digit ZIP Code. I do want to emphasize that we are sensitive to the fact that some customers might prefer an alternate mailing address that reflects a specific community name or locally recognized area, but the number of ZIP Codes is finite. In order to provide Tigard residents with a measure of community identity, our national address management database has already been modified to allow the use of Tigard as acceptable city names when associated with ZIP Codes 97223, 97224, and 97281. All mailers have the option of using Tigard as the mailing address with these ZIP Codes. Ms. Newton requested that we enhance bulk business mail service at the Tigard Post Office to include weekday hours when bulk mail is reviewed and accepted for delivery. As she has pointed out earlier in her letter, the Tigard Post Office does accept bulk business mail Monday through Fridays from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The mail is dispatched to the bulk mail acceptance unit at the main post office in Portland for processing. The only time mail is returned to a customer is when it is improperly prepared. Normally, business customers are aware of proper mailing requirement preparation procedures when they apply for discount mailing privileges. It is important to note that First-Class and Standard Mail discounts are determined by the amount of work sharing that mailers choose to perform. This generally includes mail addressing and sorting preparation. Mailers may be eligible for a discount for Standard Mail depending upon where the mail is entered into the mainstream. 475 L'ENFANT PLAZA SW WASHINGTON DC 20260-3500 VISITUs@usps.com Page 2. Finally, it is common for the last pickup in a community to be between 5-5:30 p.m. At 6:00 p.m., the final mail collection at the Tigard Post Office is one of the latest in the area. Mail must be collected and transported to the mail processing facility early enough to complete acceptance, cancellation, and sorting procedures and meet dispatch schedules. Local postal managers are knowledgeable of customer traffic in their facilities, and adjust collection hours to meet community needs within the limits of budgetary and staffing constraints. Creating a later collection time in Tigard would benefit very few customers and would not be a practical use of postal resources. I hope this information is helpful. If I can be of assistance with other postal issues, please let me know. Sincerely, G�-��/x Jennifer L. Alvarez Government Relations Representative DAVID WU COMMITTEES: 1ST DISTRICT,OREGON EDUCATION AND THE WORKFORCE 1023 LONGWORTH HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON,DC 20515-3702 21ST CENTURY COMPETITIVENESS TELEPHONE:(202)225-0855 ti SCIENCE 620 SOUTHWEST MAIN STREET �ongregg of to aniteb *tateg ENERGY SUITE 626 SPACE AND AERONAUTICS PORTLAND,OR 97205 TELEPHONE:(523)326-2901 (800)422-4003 woor of Aepregentatibeg CHAIR CONGRESSIONAL ASIAN PACIFIC http://www.house.gov/wu Wnbington, W 20515-3701 AMERICAN CAUCUS June 12,2002 Elizabeth Newton City of Tigard 9585 SW 146th Terrace#4 Beaverton, OR 97007-6442 Dear Ms. Newton: Thank you for contacting me regarding the City of Tigard's request for expanded services at the Tigard Branch of the Portland Post Office and for changes regarding the city's zip codes. I understand that the City of Tigard originally had hoped to replace the Tigard Branch with its own independent post office. As you know, the Postal Service is suffering from significant decreases in revenue, which has virtually eliminated the installation of new full- service post offices throughout the country. However, I believe that the alternative suggestions you have offered merit careful consideration. I have contacted the Postal Service on your behalf to inquire about the city's suggestions. I have also requested that I be notified of any actions or decisions that pertain to you. I will remain in contact with the congressional liaison and will notify you when I receive any new information. In the meantime, should you have any questions or concerns, or are able to provide additional information that may have a bearing on this matter, please contact Ramona Perrault, in my Portland District Office at 503-326-2901. Again, I appreciate you bringing this matter to my attention. With warm regards, David Wu Member of Congress DW:rp PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER April 26, 2002 Representative David Wu United States House of Representatives 620 SW Main Street,Suite 606 Portland, OR 97205 Dear Representative Wu: The Tigard City Council has adopted seven goals for 2002. Goal 5, Growth Management, includes a task to-"Evaluate the need and feasibility of having the Tigard Post Office Branch become the Tigard Post Office." Tigard,with a population of 42,260 is the eleventh largest city in the state. The Tigard Post Office,located on Main Street, is a branch of the Portland Main Post Office on N.W. Hoyt Street. As a branch of the Portland Post Office, the Tigard Post Office does not provide full services to Tigard residents and businesses. The neighboring cities of Beaverton (population 77,050), Tualatin(population 23,276), and Lake Oswego (population 35,415)are all served by independent post offices that offer their residents and businesses more postal services. The Tigard City Council raised the question of evaluating Tigard becoming an independent post office to address two issues: community identity and service to residents and businesses. Residents and businesses receiving mail through the Tigard Post Office may use Tigard, Portland, King City, or Durham as their location. All are appropriate under the Tigard 97223, 97224, and 97281 zip codes. Residents and businesses in the incorporated cities of Durham and King City use their city name for obvious reasons. Residents and businesses in unincorporated Metzger,Garden Home, and on Bull Mountain may use any of the four and receive mail. Some businesses that are actually located in the Tigard incorporated limits use Portland as their mailing address due to its national name recognition. As ordering items on-line and over the phone have become a primary means for doing business, some Tigard residents have experienced problems using Tigard as their mailing address.Vendors sometimes will only accept Portland as the location associated with the 97223, 97224, or 97281 zip codes,even when purchasers insist they live in Tigard and will receive mail addressed to "Tigard, Oregon." Representative David Wu April 26,2002 Page 2 of 3 As independent post offices, Beaverton, Tualatin, and Lake Oswego all accept and process bulk mail. The Tigard Post Office will accept bulk mail as a courtesy to businesses provided the mail is bundled, sorted, and the appropriate forms are filled out. The mail is then sent to the Main Portland Office at N.W. Hoyt Street and if there is a problem with the mailing it is returned to the Tigard Post Office which delays the delivery until the problem is corrected. While the Beaverton, Lake Oswego, and Tualatin post offices don't accept bulk mail during the same hours, Monday through Friday, Tualatin 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Lake Oswego, 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and Beaverton, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., all three stations have staff assigned to accept the bulk mail and review the paper work. Any errors can be corrected at that time. Bulk mail deposited at the Beaverton, Lake Oswego, or Tualatin Post Offices cost an average of 1-2 cents more per piece to cover the cost of transportation to the Sectional Center Facility at Hoyt Street in Portland, but the convenience of depositing bulk mail locally is worth the additional cost to many businesses. On weekdays, the last pickup at the Tigard Post Office is at 6:00 p.m. The closest facility to deposit mail later is at the N.W. Hoyt station in Portland where mail can be deposited until midnight. Area residents and business could save time and money if the last pickup at the Tigard station was later than 6:00 p.m. weekday evenings. I have had several phone conversations regarding these issues with Ronald Anderson, Customer Relations Coordinator at the Portland Post Office. A response from the Portland Postmaster is attached. Ramona Perrault of your staff was extremely helpful in connecting me with Jennifer Alverez with the Postal Service in Washington, D.C. Ms. Alverez was unable to locate criteria used in the establishment of independent post offices but did provide the attached list of definitions and classifications. Section 123.22 of the attached states that"Post Offices are not established solely for community identity." Mr. Anderson and Ms. Alverez also told me it is unlikely that an independent post office would be established in Tigard due to the cost—at a minimum, an additional$60,000 for an administrator. In order to address the issues of concern to the Tigard City Council as representatives of Tigard residents and businesses, I respectfully request your assistance with the following: 1. Identification of the criteria used to establish independent post office facilities and a determination whether Tigard meets those criteria. 2. Modification to appropriate data bases to accept Tigard, Oregon as a location tied to zip codes 97223, 97224, and 97281. Representative David Wu April 26,2002 Page 3 of 3 3. Enhanced bulk mail services at the Tigard Post Office to include weekday hours when bulk mail is reviewed and accepted for delivery. 4. Later weekday pickups for outgoing mail. I can be contacted at 503-639-4171, ext. 308, or liz@ci.tigard.or.us. Thank you for your assistance. Sincerely, Elizabeth Ann Newton Assistant to the City Manager c: Postmaster General, U.S. Postal Service Tigard Mayor and Council Members IM AA1LIZ HARD POST OFFICE.DOC POSTMASTER UNITED STATES MW POSTAL SERVICE February 1, 2002 Liz Newton, Assistant to the City Manager Tigard City Hall City of Tigard 13125 SW Hall Blvd. Tigard OR 97223-8199 Dear Ms. Newton: Thank you for your inquiry regarding the Tigard Branch of the Portland Post Office. As you may know, the establishment of postal operations is to serve a given community or city and is for the express purpose of collecting, sorting and delivering the mail and for no other purpose. In many cases a post office does assume the name of the community or city which it serves. In other instances the postal operation that serves a community may be administered or overseen by a larger post office in order to minimize overhead operating costs and increase efficiency. In this instance the station or branch office may be recognized by the city name of the administering office or that of the community or city it serves. In this case both city or community names are recognized as part of their valid delivery addresses. Over the years, other entities, organizations and industries have adopted the ZIP Code of their geographic area as a standard or platform on which to assess boundaries, responsibilities, insurance rates and the list goes on. The Zone Improvement Plan or Z.I.P. Code was never intended for anything else other than to aid in the sorting and delivery of the mail. The fact that mail delivery in the City of Tigard is provided by the Tigard Branch of the Portland Post Office rather than an independent post office is a complex matter that has evolved over time. Any change in the existing structure of postal operations, reporting responsibility or establishment of new post offices is beyond our local authority. The Tigard branch of the United States Postal Service has served the City of Tigard for many years with dependable and efficient mail delivery as well a full range of postal products and services. When mail delivery was first established in the region, the area surrounding Portland was predominantly unincorporated farms and small communities. With few exceptions most of the area fell under the jurisdiction of the already established Portland post office. As the metro area grew, boundary lines were drawn between emerging cities and counties within the Portland post office's area of responsibility. County boundaries along with other boundaries established by different government agencies further divided the metro area. Many of these boundaries and divisions were instituted independent of postal delivery considerations and operational needs that are based solely on mail delivery. Most large mailers who mail all over the United States use computers along with city, state and ZIP Code databases to validate ZIP Codes and city names. When companies process customer mailing lists for verification they may be referencing a condensed database where the city names listed are only those of the administrative city serving as the processing and distribution center for a multiple ZIP Coded area. This is done to keep the tremendous number of unique cities and or 715 NW Hour ST PO Box 3079 PORTLAND OR 97208-3079 (503)294-2203 FAX(503)294-2248 Liz Newton/City of Tigard February 1, 2002 Page 2 of 2 community names throughout the United States to a manageable size. It is for this reason that the Postal Service sorting equipment recognizes the names of both Tigard and Portland as valid city delivery names. In the case of the Tigard delivery area, it is identified by the unique ZIP Codes 97223, 97224 and 97281; the computer recognizes Tigard first and then Portland as a valid city name. This is why businesses and residences in Tigard from time to time receive mail with Portland as the city name. As for the level of service available at an independent post office versus a postal station or branch, the differences are indistinguishable for the most part for the majority of postal customers. The senior manager at a postal station or branch is known as the Manager, Customer Services. This person reports directly to the Postmaster of the administrative post office. Operations, staffing, community involvement and other issues that affect operational efficiencies and budget are the responsibility of the Manager, Customer Services but ultimately fall under the jurisdiction of the Postmaster. If there are issues or concerns regarding customer service, those issues must first be directed to the Manager, Customer Services for consideration and resolution which is lander their authority. If required the Manager, Customer Services will refer inquiries to the Postmaster for review. At this time the Postal Service has no compelling reason or the financial resources to establish an independent Post Office in the City of Tigard, Oregon. If there are other issues not addressed in this letter which you wish to discuss, please contact Mr. Ronald C. Anderson, Customer Relations Coordinator in my office. Mr. Anderson will be able to field most questions or concerns you may have and will consult with me if necessary to address any future concerns you may have. Sincerely, Franklin P. Di gins ra