Mountain Towns Look For Support For USPS As Mail & Package Issues Persist

(CBS4) - It's a problem years in the making, made worse by pandemic reliance on the postal service. Gypsum town manager Jeremy Rietmann believes their postal service location is in desperate need of improvements.

"...There is just not enough space, so you will have packages stacked in the back outside deck of the post office, sitting outside because there is no room for them in the building at times," Rietmann explained.

It's just one of the issues they're facing as more and more people move to town and they try to operate out of the tiny post office. Many in these mountain communities are unable to have mail delivered, and must use post boxes at the office, which means the entire town is trying to receive mail out of one room.

Rietmann wanted it to be clear he has no issues with the workers themselves, he knows they are doing the best with what they have, but simply believes additional resources and size are needed to have a normally functioning post office.

Eagle County Manager Jeff Shroll said they have their own issues in Vail with the post office and are also focused on funding solutions rather than blaming employees for what's happening with people's mail.

"It is really a capacity issue, parking is terrible, they don't have enough resources to fix infrastructure, doors, the lines are too long, they don't have enough people, they don't have enough windows, the hours are not always convenient," Shroll explained.

Many people stopping by the office Wednesday told CBS4 Mountain Newsroom Reporter Spencer Wilson they had experienced long lines, especially during the holidays.

"I had a few Christmas cards end up in my mailbox after Christmas," Vail local Edgard Cabanillas said.

He, too, is not blaming the workers. He said he understands mistakes happen, but agrees there's work to be done in these buildings to get to a normal level of operation.

Rietmann has been in contact with the USPS and is getting someone to come out and inspect the condition of their Gypsum post office, and in the meantime U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet is pushing for his colleges to vote on a bill that would help fund and restructure the postal service nationwide.

In the meantime, Eagle County postal services will continue to do what they can, until more help arrives.