Drop box dramas end happily Drop box dramas end happily (February 25, 2005)

First response proves unacceptable, but postmaster finds solution
by Dolores Fox Ciardelli

Drop boxes removed from two mobile home parks for seniors on Vineyard Avenue caused tempers to soar but the story has a happy ending, says Denise Snider, a representative from Vineyard Villa.

"The postmaster said mailboxes were never ever supposed to be put in mobile home parks," said Snider late Tuesday. "I said, 'Yes, I know, but we've had it for years.' He said he'd have the box returned sometime this week and, lo and behold, when I came home from work today, it was installed."

Postal workers removed five drop boxes around the city Feb. 4 after a density check showed they did not have the necessary 45 pieces of mail per day to warrant them, said Pleasanton Postmaster Gurjant Khosa. Special collectors pick up the mail twice a day at most drop boxes, and they inform the postmaster when a box isn't being used enough.

But three of the drop boxes were taken from locations where seniors live: Vineyard Villa and Hacienda Mobile Home Park on Vineyard Avenue, and Ridge View Commons on Case Avenue. The residents immediately responded, charging that they cannot leave outgoing mail at their homes for pickup because their incoming mail is delivered to cluster mailboxes, and they are unable to drive to other locations.

"I was not aware originally that there were collection boxes at mobile home parks," said Khosa. "I thought I'd better go out there."

Khosa visited all three locations after complaints started pouring in. He immediately had the drop box reinstalled at Ridge View Commons. At the mobile home parks, he mounted smaller drop boxes with locks, which he said have worked well in other places. But these proved inadequate to handle the books on tape that many sight-impaired seniors mail plus Snider was unhappy to notice that the mail slots were large enough for a hand to reach inside.

So Khosa arranged for the mobile home parks to get the large drop boxes back this week. Mail carriers will empty the drop boxes at all three locations, sparing the U.S. Postal Service the cost of collectors.

"We truly felt the individuals out there, like 80-90 years old, have done so much for this country that it made sense to put them back," said Khosa.

Residents were also upset that the drop boxes were removed without the mandatory two-week notice. This was due to miscommunication, said Khosa. The person assigned the task confused a notice to go from two pickups a day to one with a notice to remove the box, he explained.

Joanne Collier, the president of the Homeowners Association of Hacienda Mobile Home Park, said that at first postal employees suggested putting a cardboard box in the Hacienda mailroom but when they told the postmaster this was unacceptable, he worked toward a solution.

"I had so many calls about it," said Collier, noting that the nearest drop box was at Tawny and Bernal. "We have three people who use an electric wheelchair."

"I knew reason would prevail," said Snider. "I was ready to go to battle but that wasn't required."

Anyone with questions about drop boxes should call 1-800-ASK-USPS (275-8777).

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