Elizabeth mailbox issue resolved

After long battle, town prevails on delivery to cluster facility

BY CHANCY J. GATLIN-ANDERSON SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

e Town of Elizabeth has been in a multi-year battle with the U.S. Postal Service that should be resolved by this summer, after USPS agreed to deliver mail to cluster mailboxes that will be free for residents of “old town” Elizabeth to use.

A statement by Elizabeth Town Clerk Michelle Oeser says the town has long pushed for residential delivery of U.S. mail, and in an attempt to mitigate the issue of residents not receiving mail outside of designated, self-pay post o ce boxes, the Town of Elizabeth put in cluster mailboxes with a drive-up, ADA-compliant parking area in late 2021.

e whole project cost roughly $200,000 to complete. However, USPS would not recognize the cluster mailboxes and would not deliver mail to them, leaving Elizabeth area residents and business to continue paying for post o ce boxes.

e issue will soon be resolved, and residents and businesses in “old town” Elizabeth will nally start receiving mail at the designated cluster boxes at the corner of County Road 136 and Pine Ridge Street. USPS will begin mail delivery to the cluster boxes within the next six sentatives of the Post O ce conrmed that they will begin delivery to the cluster boxes within the next six months,” the town press release said. “In the meantime, town sta will be working diligently with the Post O ce to determine addresses tied to the boxes. In addition, we process, and not all information is known, or questions resolved at this time.” e Elbert County News spoke with Town Administrator Patrick Davidson on Jan 24 to discuss the update.

“ ere were several communities in Colorado that were facing similar issues to what we had. Buena Vista was having similar issues. e post o ce had made agreements with them and we needed the same,” said Davidson. “We sent letters to the U.S. Postal Service and would not receive responses. Every month for the past

Davidson speculates that bringing in U.S. Rep. Ken Buck on the issue helped to expedite the process.

“Finally, we got Congressman Buck’s o ce involved, asking for help with the situation,” Davidson said. “ en, I received a phone call a few weeks ago from the U.S. Postal Service saying they would start delivering to the cluster mailboxes within the next six months.”

To read the previous article about the cluster mailbox issue, visit elbertcountynews.net/stories/ elizabeth-mail-issue-remainsunresolved,398354.