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More than 10 years after it concluded that a consolidation doesn’t make sense, the U.S. Postal Service has again launched a review of the mail processing facility in Hampden, with the possibility of moving some operations to the state’s other mail processing facility, which is more than 100 miles away in Scarborough.
The assessment is meant to focus on how the Hampden facility “can best support service and operational goals, as well as provide platforms for launching new products and competitive services for mailing and shipping customers in the future,” according to the Postal Service.
In its Notice of Intent to Conduct Mail Processing Facility Review, which was issued Nov. 22, the Postal Service said: “The Postal Service will also evaluate if efficiency could be increased by transferring some mail processing operations currently performed at the Eastern Maine [Processing and Distribution Center] to the Southern Maine P&DC.”
However, the language about transferring some operations to the southern Maine facility was not included in a news release that was sent to the media on the same day. That language also does not appear in a survey question that the Postal Service asked customers to respond to.
“I don’t have any information beyond the release you received,” a Postal Service spokesperson said in response to a question about why the language about potentially transferring some operations from Hampden to Scarborough was not included in the press release.
Reviewing postal operations, with an eye toward efficiencies, makes sense. Again considering moving operations from Hampden to Scarborough after that option was flatly rejected more than a decade ago does not. Further, not being up front about the intent and scope of the current review is a big reason for concern.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins expressed “strong opposition” to any consolidation of Maine’s two processing facilities, in a Nov. 29 letter to the postmaster general.
“There is a clear geographic necessity for separate postal facilities in Scarborough and Hampden,” Collins wrote, citing examples of mail that would travel more than 300 miles — each way — to be delivered from one town in Aroostook County to another if the only processing facility were in Scarborough. Currently, some mail travels nearly 200 miles each way to go from one Aroostook County town to another.
The long distances could slow mail deliveries, which would be especially problematic for people who receive medication through the Postal Service.
“This proposal jeopardizes the reliable delivery of medication for Mainers who rely on mail order pharmacies and deliveries from federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of Veterans’ Affairs for their prescriptions, a critical concern for the oldest state in the nation,” Collins wrote in the letter.
In addition, the Hampden facility is a significant employer in the region and numerous businesses have grown up in the area because of it.
We understand that the Postal Service, like any organization, must look for efficiencies. However, it also provides an essential service, which should not be compromised solely for potential operational efficiencies.
The Postal Service says it will soon schedule a public meeting about the review. As it did in 2012, we hope the Postal Service will listen carefully and closely to the concerns and insights of the people of eastern and northern Maine to ensure that their postal deliveries are not diminished.