Glade Park Post Office Saga

Como Chapter

This page tells the story of what happened when the trailer that had been promised to Glade Park by USPS was suddenly "temporarily" diverted to Como, CO. Because of the long track record of the USPS going back on their word, many were skeptical that the trailer would ever make it to Glade Park.

It is recommended that you first scroll to the bottom of this page, and scroll up as you read, to get the story in chronological order. When you return to this link it will take you back to page one. When you get there, start again at the Como link and scroll up.

Back to Glade Park Post Office main page

Status Report from Post Office Committee Chairman

May 11, 2011

Here is an update from Jon Bilbo, Post Office Committee Chairman. If you are interested in getting involved in the efforts of the committee, use the form at the bottom of this page to make contact and/or express your opinion.

Good Morning Folks:

After several conversations with Daniel Reyes over the past several months, with no answers to any of my questions, he called Friday and informed me that the new Como PO will open on May 16, and the district plans to deliver the trailer to Glade Park on or about May 18.

Earlier, I told him that we financially could not support a PO, and we wanted to consider the stacked boxes. He said they were very expensive and something they would not do. He indicated that that is normally done by developers when they develop and sell property. I asked him about the requirements for a foundation and electricity as well as the box numbers. During our conversation on Friday, he said we would have to have a foundation, electricity is not required, and he did not know about the numbering system. I stated again we did not have the financial resources to support a post office. I also expressed my concern about the numbering of the new boxes. if the trailer gets positioned and GJPO shifts to the new trailer and we have to change PO box numbers, that will be a pain for all.

After my conversation with Daniel, I called Eric Bruton and passed on the information. He indicated that he would contact Craig Meis and asked me to do the same. He also indicated that we needed to meet to discuss our next steps. i will set this up next week after speaking to Craig. We also talked about the foundation requirement and Eric stated that there are several ways to support the trailer and once GJPO gives the trailer to GP, it is GP's determination how to support the trailer and provide electricity if desired. He also stated that it is important to have the County Codes Official in on our meeting so we don't do something that he later countermands. The big question is still the ownership of the trailer, electricity and heat. The trailer appears to have some windows but maybe not enough to light the facility very well, especially in the winter. Without electricity, there will be no after dark service, except with flashlights.

Many things to discuss during our meeting. I will keep you informed of the conversations and decisions and what we need to do next. We should have another meeting, but not until we get more information from the county.

Jon Bilbo

USPS Finds an Alternative Place For Post Office

4/29/2011 5:14:00 PM

The Flume Site of new Como post Office The Como Post Office will move into the Mountain Man Gallery and begin operations by the end of May. Before landing there, the post office had operated out of the Como Mercantile building until December, when it moved to a temporary trailer across the street from the Mountain Man Gallery. (Photo by Laura Van Dusen/The Flume)

Como post office moving to Mountain Man Gallery

By Laura Van Dusen - Correspondent

Full Story - Como Finds Contract P.O.

Trailer Promised to Glade Park Diverted to Como, CO

Time for the whole community to pull together

Be sure to scroll down for comment form below it make comments, and read comments already posted

April 5, 2011 - Update on Como Chapter

Sometimes it is Nice to be Wrong

It looks like the post office trailer that was diverted to Como,CO will be available for Glade Park by May. The following story was printed in the 03-11-2011 edition of the Flume. According to this story, the permanent accommodations for the Como post office will be opening by May, 2011. They have not yet announced the location, but it sounds like they were able to contract with a business.

Sometimes it really is nice to be wrong. Some of us were very skeptical about the diverted trailer making it to Glade Park in the near future, based on how long it is taking to resolve the situation here. Unfortunately Glade Park does not have another business that can take over the contract. Even if the trailer is headed back here, there is still no resolution to how it is going to be lighted,and heated in the wintertime.

Editorial Comment

The community needs to come together to resolve this situation. It is my opinion that the community needs to charge for post office boxes to cover expenses. Since the Post Office is supposed to provide one avenue for free mail service to everyone, they have said there should be no charge for the post office boxes. However, they are not providing it. We have to provide for ourselves. In the community survey done back when this problem first emerged, many said they would not be willing to pay for a post office box. To them I say, go to Grand Junction for your mail if you are not willing to be part of the solution up here.

New Como Post Office on Target to Open in May

Location of new post office kept under wraps until deal finalized.

Park County Republican and Fairplay Flume
03-11-2011 edition
By Laura Van Dusen
Correspondent

Residents of Como and those in the surrounding areas that get their mail at the temporary postal trailer in Como will soon be able to not only pick up their mail, but also to buy stamps and money orders, mail and receive packages, and use other post office services such as registered and certified mail at the new contract post office – to be located in the town of Como at a site still to be named.
So says Al DeSarro, spokesman for the Colorado/Wyoming U. S. Postal Service.

The Como post office was housed in the Como Mercantile building at 142 Sixth St.for many years until Dec. 3 when the post office boxes were moved to a temporary trailer on the northwest corner of Sixth Street and Broadway, across from the Mountain Man Gallery. The trailer is on land owned by Mountain Man Gallery owners Ricki and Ram Ramstetter.

The post office had to be moved after the Como Mercantile was sold last August. The contract with the Postal Service was not part of the sale, and contract negotiations with the new owner of the Mercantile were unsuccessful.

In a telephone conversation with DeSarro on March 4, he said that he was not able to name the location of the new post office until all the paperwork has been approved and signed. The post office as a rule does not disclose details of pending contracts until they have been finalized, he said. But he also said that the post office is “strongly and optimistically working” to have the change to a new contract post office in Como to proceed as planned.

The plan, as outlined in a community meeting in Como on Nov. 17, is to put a community post office in an established business in Como. That post office will provide retail products such as stamps, package mailing, and express, certified and registered mail service. The postal service will train the proprietor of the established business to do all of the required services. (See the Nov. 26 Flume) In the meeting on Nov. 17, the community was told that established businesses would be the only locations that would be considered for the community post office. They would not consider a business that was not in existence before that meeting or consider putting the post office in a home or in another building in the community. At the meeting, patrons were also advised that a contract post office is not based solely on the location and condition of the building, but on the proprietor/owner of the business that is being considered. They look at the applicant’s background and ability to run a post office, and the monetary amount requested by the applicant. The plan is that the post office will be located in an established business by May 2011. Although DeSarro could not pinpoint when in May the move will be completed, he did say that the U. S. Postal Service does not expect any delay and that the move could possibly be before May.

Ricki Ramstetter said in a conversation on March 4 that the lease on the property where the temporary trailer sits will be up on May 1, and she has not had any request to extend that lease.

The USPS will provide the individual patron boxes, parcel lockers for packages that won’t fit in the individual post office boxes, and a letter drop. The cost and construction materials to put the boxes in, and to cordon off an area in the established business, if needed, will be the responsibility of the postal contractor.

DeSarro estimated that it can take two weeks for an establishment to be renovated to house the post office, depending on what needs to be done.

Once the contract post office is established in an existing business, the trailer that Como patrons have been using to collect mail will continue on its way to Glade Park, Colo., a small community about halfway between Grand Junction and the Utah state line, accessible only through the Colorado National Monument. The trailer was promised to Glade Park as early as 2007. In November it was diverted to Como when that post office had to be moved quickly out of the Como Mercantile.

DeSarro said that patrons of the new Como contract post office should expect the location will be “very nice.” He said that “Como residents will be very happy” with the new location.

November 30, 2010 - Update

Glad to see The Daily Sentinel finally ran this story. We need to keep the pressure on the USPS, as they have had an ever changing story on what is going to happen with our Post Office. The quote from the USPS representative raises questions:

"The wait for the trailer will be worthwhile, DeSarro said.

The trailer is being equipped for lights and electricity, services not originally contemplated for the Glade Park trailer, DeSarro said.

“We’re spending some bucks on this,” he said."

We were previously told that the community itself would have to deal with paying for utilities. Since we have no funding for that, the best suggestion seemed to be a solar panel for lighting, with a motion sensor. Without heat, the postal contractors would be in the cold and without a restroom during the time they are there sorting mail and providing window service. Is the USPS now making a commitment to supply electricity? We need to keep their feet to the fire on that one.

Please contact our senators, write a letter to the editor, etc. to keep the pressure on. We may not be able to stop the trailer from going to Como, but they need to know we are not going to quietly sit here if it does not get to Glade Park.

Link to full story:
The Daily Sentinel 11-30-10

November 28, 2010

On November 23rd several Glade Park residents met with Gary Harmon/The Daily Sentinel at the temporary Glade Park Post Office trailer to tell the story of what is happening to the permanent trailer that has been intended for here. That story has not yet been run by The Daily Sentinel. Hopefully it is not in file 13. This issue is time sensitive. In attendance were: Deb Moorland, Dennis Carns, Jay and Dori Van Loan, Don and Cathy Collier, Joe and Jill Pellezari, and Susan Treece.

Here is an excerpt from The Flume, on the Como situation. Notice it mentions our trailer. Do you think that trailer will ever end up here? Are you going to help stand up for Glade Park interests? Start by scrolling down this page to let us know what you think. Please contact politicians, write letters, speak out. Let USPS know we are tired of them going back on their word.

The Flume
Park County Republican and Fairplay Flume
11/28/2010 11:47:00 AM

"The trailer the post office is moving to Como is to be a temporary replacement of the current facilities. The CO/WY USPS has budgeted $25,000 to prepare and move the trailer, including setting it up on the lot, connecting electricity, putting in heat and lights, and moving the current post office boxes into the trailer.

Hettick said that the trailer cannot stay in Como permanently because that would be a "new space" project. Projects for new space are limited in the current economy because the post office nationwide is $8.5 billion in debt. Hettick said that in a "typical year in Colorado and Wyoming, nine new post offices would be built. This year there will be only nine new post offices (built) west of the Mississippi (River) with the exception of California (due to the economy)," he said. The post office debt was also the reason given why the USPS will not build a permanent facility in Como.

"It's simply a matter of economics," he said.
The trailer that is being set up in Como was originally supposed to go to Glade Park, Colo., for its post office, and it will go there after its term in Como is over. Glade Park is a small town in Mesa County about halfway between Grand Junction and the Utah state line.

Hettick said the postal service wants to have a new CPO in town as soon as possible. We "hope to have the paperwork in, the contract awarded, built out, and wrapped up by May," he said."

Link to full story:

Post Office Story/The Flume 11-28-10

November 24, 2010,

We need everyone to ask Senator Michael Bennett and Senator Mark Udall to help us keep the Post Office trailer that has been intended for Glade Park. It is just wrong for it to be diverted to Como, CO. With the history of this situation we have no reason to trust that we will ever see it if it settles into Como. Our situation has drawn out for years, so why would theirs be cured by spring? The USPS can put them into a temporary construction trailer like we have had for going on 5 years. John Salazar's office contacted us. It appears he has already folded his tent. He referred us to Michael Bennett or Senator Udahl. Please do not make assumptions that it is not possible to change this situation. We at least need to go on record as protesting it.

Here is the political contact info:

Glade Park Post Office Political Contacts

November 20, 2010

The Glade Park Post Office committee has been cautiously monitoring the progress on the renovation of a modular unit that was said to be destined to land here as the permanent Post Office. Because of previous reversals by USPS, and veiled threats about loosing even the temporary construction trailer that now houses the Post Office, the committee has been reluctant to rock the boat, or announce any seeming progress to the community. It turns out that caution was well founded. Now a similar Post Office crisis in the small community of Como, CO (Park County) has triggered rumors that the modular unit that has been anticipated for Glade Park is going to be diverted to Como, CO.

GladePark.com has been contacted by Laura Van Dusen, a reporter for The Flume (Park County, CO), because it was mentioned in a town meeting that the trailer that is being considered for them had been previously intended for Glade Park. Now we are past rumors.

Editorial comment: I have been involved in the Glade Park P.O. committee, and going along with the consensus that the best thing to do is quietly wait and not rock the boat. There was progress in the right direction. With this upset I have resigned from the committee so there will not be a conflict of interest with openly reporting any information I receive on GladePark.com. I think it is necessary at this time for this community to become vocal and active in stopping the diversion of the modular unit intended for Glade Park.

We have made do with a construction trailer for several years while patiently waiting for something more adequate. No one empathizes with Como's delimma more than we do, but a construction trailer can be rented for them until their situation is settled. Glade Park has struggled with our dilemma for years. I personally do not have much faith in statements that it would staying only temporarily at Como. Possession is 9/10ths of the law. Their situation is likely to drag out just like ours, and once they are settled into that unit Glade Park is very likely to never see it. We were previously told that a building would be constructed up here - we were even shown drawings done by USPS for that specific building. With the change to the new Post Master all that dissolved into thin air. The community was encouraged to construct a building itself, which is quite an undertaking for a small unincorporated community. Then we started hearing rumors of this modular unit being renovated for us - but were told to keep it hush-hush.

Now it feels like we have been played for fools. It seems the goal has been for USPS to keep the heat off of themselves by placating and maneuvering, without ever making any solid commitment. We have understood and accepted that they are dealing with serious budgetary problems themselves, but this whimsical reversal is not fair or honest. It is time to break the silence and object to this kind of treatment. Glade Park residents and sympathizers should make every effort of make this injustice known in every way we can. We need to contact politicians, media, and do all we can to stop the diversion of our Post Office to Como.

Deb Moorland

Here is the article in The Flume that describes the situation in Como, CO.

The Flume
Park County Republican and Fairplay Flume
11/11/2010 11:47:00 AM

Nov. 17 meeting will discuss possibly closing Como post office
Alternate locations, alternate delivery eyed

By Laura Van Dusen

A meeting to discuss the future of the Como post office, including possible closure, is scheduled for Nov. 17 at 5:30 p.m. at the Como Civic Association building, which is the old grade school building, at 165 Spruce Street in Como.

The post office is housed in the Como Mercantile building at the corner of Rowe and 6th streets in downtown Como.

The town hall meeting is being held to give postal service customers the opportunity to discuss the current state of affairs of the Como post office, said Marcela Juarez Rivera, manager of consumer affairs for the Colorado/Wyoming district of the U.S. Postal Service.

Link to full story:

Como Post Office Story 11/11/10/The Flume

Please let us know that you think about this situation. Comment here: