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Home My WebLink About8.2 Post Office Update CITY CLERK File # D[t[!(i]-[)J~ AGENDA STATEMENT CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: March 18,2008 SUBJECT: Update on Post Office on Village Parkway Report Prepared by: Christopher 1. Foss, Economic Development Director ATTACHMENTS: 1. Draft Letter to Congressman McNerney RECOMMENDATION:/") ~,.("y- Receive the report and authorize the Mayor to sign the letter to \ t/\ftO Congressman McNerney. DESCRIPTION: For the past several years, the City of Dublin and the Dublin Chamber of Commerce have engaged the United States Postal Service (USPS) in a continuing dialogue on methods to improve customer service at the Village Parkway station and to discuss plans for a new main post office in Dublin. According to the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, meetings were held with the USPS in 1999,2000,2001,2002,2005, and most recently in January 2008. The meetings prior to 2005 concentrated on postal deliveries, post office staffing, and parking/access problems at the Dublin station. One of the City Council's FY 2007-2008 Goals and Objectives is to "Report on Post Office Expansion and/or new Post Office" (Goal l-c-2). This report will outline the progress that has been made on the Post Office Expansion project since 2005. During the September 2005 meeting between City, Chamber of Commerce, and USPS officials, it was revealed that the Dublin Post Office on Village Parkway would not be relocating as the USPS had signed a 10-year lease extension that expires in 2014. USPS staff indicated that they were considering relocating the carriers from the Village Parkway station to the USPS facility in San Ramon for the following three reasons: (1) Customer Safety - there is limited customer parking for the Dublin facility for both employees and customers. The move of the postal carriers to San Ramon would free up 15-30 spaces. (2) Better Utilization of USPS Space - USPS only utilizing 50% of the 60,000 s.f. San Ramon facility. (3) Improvement of customer service-mail would be sent directly to San Ramon for sorting - not to Pleasanton to sort and then trucked to Dublin (current practice). The USPS also indicated that there were going to remodel the existing retail operation on Village Parkway to add up to 3 additional service windows to the 3 existing windows, and add additional Post Office boxes. Due to the fact that none of the activities mentioned in the September 2005 meeting had taken place, a meeting was held on January 29, 2008 between the City, Chamber, and USPS officials to receive an updated report on the USPS's activities at the Village Parkway Post Office. Postmaster Ghurjant Khosa indicated that several factors combined to postpone the proposed postal carrier move. He stated that the USPS is now studying two options - moving all postal carriers from the Dublin station to San Ramon or COPY TO: Nancy Feeley, Dublin Chamber of Commerce Ghurjant Khosa, Postmaster, PleasantonlDublin Station Page 1 of2 ITEM NO.-.J. 2.. G:\Chris\Post Office\Agenda statement March 42008.doc C'_ moving 50% of the carriers to the Pleasanton post office. He further stated that there should be some activity on this proposal within the next 3-4 months and either option would provide for additional customer parking at the post office (at least 15 and as many as 30 spaces - depending on option selected). Postmaster Khosa also mentioned that USPS now has no plans to increase the number of service windows at the Post Office, which differs from the USPS position in 2005 when they said they would look to add up to 3 new windows. He stated that operationally they staff all three service windows during the busiest times of the day (11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.) to meet the peak customer demand. Staff researched the number of customer services windows being offered by the USPS in the other Tri- Valley cities and found that the Dublin Post Office trails all other communities (see below): City Population Post Office Service (11112007) Facilities Windows Danville 42,601 2 8 Dublin 43,630 1 3 Livermore 82,845 2 5 Pleasanton 68,755 2 8 San Ramon 58,035 1 7 According to Postmaster Khosa, the USPS plans to open a retail facility in eastern Dublin by 2010. With regards to a new central post office for the community, Postmaster Khosa indicated that the USPS does not plan to build any new postal facilities in the next 5 years as there is a freeze in capital projects. During the meeting, Mayor Lockhart expressed interest in contacting Congressman McNerney about the City's desire to see improvements at the existing post office and to be considered as a community needing a new main post office. Staffhas prepared a draft letter from Mayor Lockhart for City Council review and authorization to send to Congressman McNerney. RECOMMENDATION: Congressman McNerney. Receive the report and authorize the Mayor to sign the letter to J~o< /~::--... /'j '.)1. Uf;;> <'\>~~- <.J/, \ ','_ :./ v/1" (/~~~01~\\\\\ C 0 -.JH'~I~l'i~".~TY _9.~ UB~IN \~~,>.~<~ 100 Civic Plaza, Dublin, California 94568 "\:-~l~ZLE(:~~\.~:~~~~>>-' l~? "Celebrating 25 Years Of Cityhood 1982-2C!07" Website: http://www.ci.dublin.ca.us March 19,2008 The Honorable Jerry McNerney U.S. House of Representatives 312 Cannon House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Dear Congressman McNerney: On behalf of the Dublin City Council, I would like to express the City's concern that the existing post office in Dublin, California is entirely inadequate to meet the city's current needs as well as the city's future population and the City would like your help. The City of Dublin is one of the fastest growing communities in the East Bay - it currently has 44,000 residents and will have a population of nearly 65,000 people at community build-out. The existing facility on Village Parkway has not changed since the City's incorporation in 1982 when we had a population of 13,900 residents! The current facility is limited in customer parking spaces, has inadequate vehicular access, and has fewer customer service windows than our surrounding communities (see attachment). The City believes that the United States Postal Service is not providing the level of service commensurate with a community of our size. Over the past eight years, the City has hosted several meetings between the City and United States Post Office (USPS) officials to discuss the operation of the Dublin facility. The City has continually been told that an expansion of the current facility is in the works, but to date, there has been no change to the DublinIPleasanton station on Village Parkway. On January 29,2008, I along with representatives of the City and the Dublin Chamber of Commerce met with Ghurjant Khosa, Postmaster for the Pleasanton/Dublin station, to discuss the USPS's options regarding Dublin Station. During that meeting, Postmaster Khosa discussed several options, including relocating the postal carriers to a San Ramon facility, remodeling and expanding the retail operations of the Dublin Station, and adding a new retail station in eastern Dublin by 2010. He also stated that there are no plans for a new Dublin Post Office as there is a five-year freeze on capital projects. On behalf of the residents of Dublin, I would respectfully request that you contact the USPS and ask for definitive answers as to the operational and physical changes that must be made to the Dublin postal station and what plans, if any, exist for a new Dublin Main Post Office. It is an issue of great concern to our community. I appreciate you looking into this matter and look forward to your response. Area Code (925) . City Manager 833-6650 . City Council 833-6650 . Personnel 833-6605 . Economic Development 833-6650 <is. 2.- Finance 833-6640 . Public Works/Engineering 833-6630 . Parks & Community Services 833-6645 . Police pClCl_RR7n 3-18-{)'f) Planning/Code Enforcement 833-6610 . Building Inspection 833-6620 . Fire Prevention Bureau 833-6f Attachment 1 Printed on Recycled Paper ;<11 Sincerely, Janet Lockhart Mayor Attachment A - Matrix of Tri-Valley Post Offices cc: Dublin City Council John E. Potter, Postmaster General and CEO, USPS William P. Galligan, Senior Vice President, Operations, USPS Michael. J. Daley, Vice President, Area Operations, Pacific Area, USPS Tom Samra, Vice President, Facilities, USPS Ghurjant Khosa, Postmaster, Pleasanton/Dublin Station, USPS ~~?? TRI-V ALLEY POST OFFICES Address City Hours of Days of Customer Operation Operation Windows 160 Alamo Plaza Alamo 9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.rn. Monday - Friday 3 9:00 a.rn. - 3:00 p.rn. Saturday 23 Railroad Avenue Danville 9:00 a.rn. - 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday 2 2605 Camino Tassajara Danville 8:00 a.rn. - 6:00 p.rn. Monday - Friday 6 (Main Post Office) 9:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.rn. Saturday 1701 El Nido Diablo 8:00 a.rn. to 4;30 p.rn. Monday - Friday 2 6937 Village Parkway Dublin 9:00 a.rn. - 5:00 p.rn. Monday - Friday 3 (Main Post Office) 10:00 a.rn. - 2:00 p.rn. Saturday 220 So. Livermore Livermore 8:45 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Monday - Friday 5 Avenue 10:00 a.rn. - 2 p.m. Saturday 1601 Railroad Ave, Ste. Livermore 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.rn. Monday - Friday 0 B 10:00 a.rn. - 2:00 p.m. Saturday 4300 Black A venue Pleasanton 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.rn. Monday - Friday 5 (Main Post Office) 10;00 a.rn. - 2:00 p.rn. Saturday 4682 Chabot Drive Pleasanton 9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.rn. . . Monday - Friday 3 12935 Alcosta Blvd. San Ramon 8:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Monday - Friday 7 (Main Post Office) 8:00 a.m. - 3;00 p.rn. Saturday City Population Post Office Service (1/1/2007) Facilities Windows Danville 42,601 2 8 Dublin 43,630 1 3 Livermore 82,845 2 5 Pleasanton 68,755 2 8 San Ramon 58,035 1 7 Attachment A