A new annex for carriers to pick up their mail opened in Fife on Monday. But the U.S. Postal Service doesn’t expect to open a full-fledged post office in the city in the foreseeable future, despite Fife’s long-held goal to have one.
Carriers for three ZIP codes and 25 routes will now pick up their mail at the Fife annex near the Poodle Dog restaurant, instead of at the downtown Tacoma post office. Those 30 carriers – including substitutes – deliver mail to 12,700 addresses for Fife, Browns Point and surrounding area, said Ernie Swanson, spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service district office in Seattle.
Fife and other residents served by carriers from the new annex will pick up certified and registered letters and mail held during vacations at the Fife facility at 1421 52nd Ave. E. There are no retail services in the leased space. The Fife annex serves ZIP codes 98421, 98422 and 98424.
Fife City Manager Dave Zabell said the annex opening is a positive step for the city of 9,220 residents.
“It’s giving us a USPS presence in Fife,” he said. “That’s further than we’ve been.”
Zabell said one of the city’s goals still is to have a full-service post office.
“We’re pleased with this improvement,” Zabell said. “City officials recognize USPS is not in an expansion mode right now.”
Swanson said the Postal Service was hoping to open a full post office in Fife four or five years ago but had difficulty finding a building or property.
“In the meantime, our mail volume has gone south,” Swanson said. Because of the declining mail volumes – accelerated by the economy and the growth of Internet use – the Postal Service is looking to shut down post offices, not open new ones, Swanson said.
In July, the Postal Service said 3,700 facilities will be studied for possible closure, including 39 locations in Washington. Among them: Hilltop, American Lake and Madigan Army Medical Center post offices.
Swanson said the Postal Service decided it didn’t need a full-service post office in Fife, but it does want to open a contract postal unit at a local business. People could buy stamps and send domestic mail and packages from there, but these operations generally don’t handle international mail or have post office boxes.
Fife’s previous contract unit closed when Fife Pharmacy and Gifts shut down last year.
“We’re trying to find a business that’s willing to take it on,” Swanson said.
The Postal Service is leasing space for the annex. Adding the annex saves fuel and time because carriers can drive shorter distances, Swanson said.
Carriers will continue to pick up mail for three ZIP codes – 98401, 98402 and 98403 – at the downtown Tacoma post office, 1102 A St.
The Postal Service, which is in the first year of a new five-year lease for the downtown Tacoma post office, will continue to provide full retail services there, Swanson said.
Steve Maynard: 253-597-8647
steve.maynard@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/crime
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