The U.S. Postal Service won’t consolidate services from its distribution center in Hampden.
That Monday announcement ends months of questions and worries about the impact of moving some mail-processing operations from the Eastern Maine Distribution Center to another facility in Scarborough, about 130 miles away.
A spokesperson said Monday that this was made possible by nationwide improvements to the Postal Service’s network that will increase efficiency, boost service quality and save $3 billion annually for the agency.
“The significant savings generated by this proposed operational strategy would enable the Postal Service to absorb the cost of continuing to provide local [mail] service in Hampden,” Postal Service spokesperson Stephen Doherty wrote in a news release.
Those changes won’t be made until after this year’s election.
“The decision to keep local mail originating processing operations in the Eastern Maine Processing Facility will help ensure the timely delivery of all time-sensitive correspondence including elections ballots and essentials such as medications for all of rural Maine,” Robert Perocchi, president of the AFL-CIO Bangor Area Local No. 536, which represents union workers at the plant, said in a statement.
Questions swirled about the future of the Hampden facility after the office of Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins raised concerns about the Postal Service study that included examining whether to consolidate its services with another mail center 130 miles away in Scarborough.
Collins, independent U.S. Sen. Angus King and Democrat U.S. Rep. Jared Golden opposed that move, saying any consolidation would create hardships and delays for Mainers, especially those who rely on the Postal Service to get mail-order medication.
The Postal Service said in January it wouldn’t shutter the Eastern Maine Distribution Center, but in April said that some mail-processing services would be consolidated with those at its Southern Maine Distribution Center. Then in May the Postal Service announced it was delaying those changes.
“The USPS’s decision to permanently abandon its proposed changes to the Hampden facility is welcome news for the people of Maine. As I have said repeatedly, any consolidation of Maine’s two USPS processing facilities located in Hampden and Scarborough would have jeopardized the reliable delivery of mail,” Collins said in a statement. “Mail service in Maine is even more important given that it is the oldest state by median age and one of the nation’s most rural. This decision will ensure that mail delivery will remain the same and that the employees of the Hampden plant will keep their jobs.”
Beyond retaining the services provided at the Eastern Maine Distribution Center, the Postal Service plans to invest $12.1 million in the facility, as announced back in April. That investment will modernize the distribution center, as well as address its maintenance backlog.
The investment also will increase the capacity of the facility, including updated sorting equipment and faster delivery. With that investment, the Postal Service expects that it may eventually need more workers to meet the increased demand.
“This investment goes beyond just enhancing the work environment for our employees. It’s about equipping the facility with the necessary technology and resources to deliver top-notch service to the local community for the foreseeable future,” Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said in a statement.
In 2012, the Postal Service announced plans to close the Hampden facility. It provoked fierce opposition from the community and the state’s congressional delegation. The Postal Service eventually walked back that plan and kept the distribution center running.