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More Community Corner Royalston to assume post office contract
Confronted with the possibility of losing the town’s only remaining post office, Royalston Town Meeting in late June approved a plan to have the town run the office under a contract.
The tiny office, officially known as a “postal unit” rather than a post office, has operated on a contract basis for decades. The person who currently oversees the office announced recently that she does not intend to renew her contract when it expires.
A second post office, in the south end of town, closed several years ago. Had the remaining office been allowed to shut down, according to Board of Selectmen Chair Linda Alger, “We would have had to travel eight to 12 miles to get to the nearest postal facility” – a notable fuel expense.
The town might also have lost its one remaining zip code. When the post office in South Royalston closed, Alger said, residents in that section of town encountered confusion when they sought to take care of business such as renewing driver’s licenses; the new zip code they had been given suggested they were residents of neighboring Athol, not Royalston.
Alger said she knows of just two other Massachusetts communities in which the town government has assumed responsibility for the postal contract. Doing so, she said, should allow Royalston to move the post office into a more accessible, town-owned building and perhaps expand its hours and allow residents to access their mail when the office is closed.
The post office is used for mail pick-up by many rural residents as well as the Royalston Common Historic District, where mail boxes in front of homes are not allowed.
“The post office is not a huge money maker – it sort of breaks even,” Alger said. “But it does have a huge community component here.”
More Community Corner Royalston to assume post office contract
Royalston to assume post office contract
Confronted with the possibility of losing the town’s only remaining post office, Royalston Town Meeting in late June approved a plan to have the town run the office under a contract.
The tiny office, officially known as a “postal unit” rather than a post office, has operated on a contract basis for decades. The person who currently oversees the office announced recently that she does not intend to renew her contract when it expires.
A second post office, in the south end of town, closed several years ago. Had the remaining office been allowed to shut down, according to Board of Selectmen Chair Linda Alger, “We would have had to travel eight to 12 miles to get to the nearest postal facility” – a notable fuel expense.
The town might also have lost its one remaining zip code. When the post office in South Royalston closed, Alger said, residents in that section of town encountered confusion when they sought to take care of business such as renewing driver’s licenses; the new zip code they had been given suggested they were residents of neighboring Athol, not Royalston.
Alger said she knows of just two other Massachusetts communities in which the town government has assumed responsibility for the postal contract. Doing so, she said, should allow Royalston to move the post office into a more accessible, town-owned building and perhaps expand its hours and allow residents to access their mail when the office is closed.
The post office is used for mail pick-up by many rural residents as well as the Royalston Common Historic District, where mail boxes in front of homes are not allowed.
“The post office is not a huge money maker – it sort of breaks even,” Alger said. “But it does have a huge community component here.”
Written by MMA Associate Editor Mitch Evich
