Postal Service reverses decision to close a post office in Salem Township

• The U.S. Postal Service has reversed a decision to close a contract postal office in Salem Township on Oct. 15
• The decision comes after outcry from residents, who said the closure would force them to drive 14 miles round trip for their mail 
• Contract postal units offer services similar to government-run post offices but are operated by private contractors.

Following outcry from residents and community leaders, the U.S. Postal Service has decided not to close a postal facility in Salem Township — at least for now. 

Residents learned in early August that the office — one of more than 2,000 “contract postal units” in the U.S. run by private contractors — would be closing on Oct. 15. That meant some residents would have to get their mail from the U.S. post office in Northville, which would require them to make a 14-mile round-trip drive — versus the 5-minute walk that they were used to.  

USPS announced the reversal Thursday, nearly a month after Bridge Michigan reported that the contract postal unit would be closing and six weeks after U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D- Ann Arbor, who represents Salem Township, fired off a letter to Northville postmaster Dayton Descant, saying Salem Township residents had shared “serious concerns” about the impact of the closure.

“It is critical for Salem Township residents to have convenient, accessible mailbox locations,” Dingell wrote. “The Salem Post office provides essential mail and package delivery services to neighborhoods across Salem Township, and it is critical that residents continue to access these services with as little disruption as possible.” 

Related: As US Postal Service bleeds money, some in Michigan will drive miles for mail

In his response to Dingell, James Reedy, government relations representative for the USPS, said the reversal came after a “more thorough review” of the Salem facility’s “contract, required changes to postal operations, and postal finances.”

“I regret any stress or confusion the previous closure announcement has caused Salem residents,” Reedy wrote.

In a statement, Dingell’s office said the representative worked closely with the postal service “to reach a solution that would ensure residents have timely access to their mail.” “Congresswoman Dingell’s job is to represent her constituents,” the statement said. “She reached out to the USPS after hearing concerns from residents and the mayor about the ability to access mail, bills, packages, medications, and other essential goods and services if the Salem Post Office closed.” 

Contract postal units like the one in Salem are often housed inside businesses such as convenience stores. CPUs sell stamps and offer services similar to the U.S. Postal Service but are operated by private contractors. The postal service has decreased the number of contract post offices and village post offices by 20% since 2019, according to a report by the USPS

In her letter, Dingell said the planned closure “appears to be part of a larger plan from the USPS to close about 3,000 small contract post offices, primarily impacting rural communities like Salem Township.” However, Reedy wrote, “...there are no plans or directives to postal districts to systematically review or close the 2,295 CPUs across the nation.” 

Linda Hamilton, operator of the Salem postal store, told Bridge she received notice from the postal service in June that her contract was being terminated without reason but she assumed it was because of a decline in revenue. 

She said she received another email in September stating that her store would temporarily remain open until a permanent solution was found. 

“There are other people who utilize the post office for mailing. They purchase their stamps here. They obviously don't want to see it closed, but that's part of life, is change, and they understand that,” Hamilton said. 

“I haven't had anybody who did not have a positive response when they found out we were remaining open.” 

Hamilton said she would continue to operate the store until it closes but is unsure when it will close, whether that be next year or in two years. 

‘They don’t want to drive to Northville’

“There are people that simply want to have a better continuation of service. They want a better plan in place. They don't want to change their address multiple times. They don't want to drive to Northville,” Hamilton said.

According to Dingell’s letter, residents who live in the Salem Hamlet area of town “were notified that they are not eligible for street delivery unless their homes are on road frontage.” Losing the contract post office would have affected their ability to receive their bills, other mail and medications. 

“We're in the middle of an election cycle, a lot of people get a significant amount of information in their mailboxes about potential candidates, potential proposals and so it's a critical time to know that you have access to getting your mail in a manner that's timely,” Hamilton said. 

David Stacer, 62, one of the Salem Township residents who would have been affected by the closure, expressed relief Friday. 

“When the majority of the population either gets home delivery or delivery that's within their subdivision … what they were asking us to do was … just crazy, to drive that far to get our mail,” Stacer said. 

He is hopeful that when the Salem Township postal unit does close, USPS will pay to install cluster mailboxes in the township office, which he said is more convenient. 

“I understand they’ve got to change. I'm fine with the clustered mailboxes. I think that's a great solution,” Stacer added.