Post Office Spokeswoman Says There’s ‘No Decision in Hand’ To Close North Canton Office

The United States Postal Service acknowledges it made a mistake in a survey it sent to North Canton Post Office box holders and “has no decision in hand” to close the facility entering the review process, according to a spokesman for the region.

As reported in this Patch article, the service sent a letter to box holders that said an independent postal branch in North Canton “may not be warranted.” It also provided a survey that asked residents if they would use the East Hartland Post Office, which it stated is 3.1 miles away. That's actually the distance to the Canton Center Post Office. The East Hartland Office is nearly eight miles away.

“We acknowledge the error but based this on the data we have online at usps.com that uses Google maps to help chart the distances for our post offices,” spokeswoman Maureen P. Marion said. “Clearly, this illustrates the reasons for good community feedback early in our process.  We apologize for the error and appreciate the feedback already.”

On Tuesday, First Selectman Richard Barlow said the letter to North Canton residents made it seem the service had a “prejudged” decision to close the post office.

Marion said that’s not the case.

“We feel it is important to review our options where we can. But be assured that a decision to review is not a decision to close,” she said. “We have no decisions in hand entering this process and no outcome certain until we run through our full process, which includes collection of the surveys and a community information session.”

She also said mail volume in the country has gone down by more than 20 percent in four years and the postal service lost $8.5 billion in 2010.

While that will lead to some “difficult decisions” there are no predetermined numbers of offices the postal service is looking to close, Marion added.

The postal service has scheduled a meeting for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 26 at The Grange Hall, 534 Cherry Brook Road.