HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 8.2 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
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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
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"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
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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
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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