Saving the mail in American Canyon | Napa Valley Register

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Saving the mail in American Canyon

The U.S. Postal Service made the right choice in preserving the local office

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

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For months, American Canyon’s tiny postal outpost on Crawford Way was on a federal hit list, penciled in as a likely victim of the postal service’s multi-billion dollar budget problems. Last week, the postal service announced that the American Canyon office has been removed from the list and will remain open.

While USPS has some tough decisions to make, keeping the American Canyon Post Office alive is the right choice.

Long-time American Canyon residents would cite many reasons, including the community’s effort to establish an identity and a business community distinct from those in the neighboring cities of Vallejo and Napa. The post office also is getting a good deal, as American Canyon City Manager Rich Ramirez noted, paying rent of $1 a year for the converted trailer that sits on city land.

Yet there are more persuasive reasons. American Canyon has roughly 16,000 residents. A city that size certainly has steady need for a post office — it is worth noting that there has been no discussion of closing outposts in smaller communities such as Calistoga, St. Helena or Yountville.

Further, American Canyon is likely to grow by several thousand residents in the coming years and will have even greater need for a post office. So it is very good news that the post office is looking elsewhere to make the necessary cuts.

While neither rain nor snow nor budget woes will close the post office in American Canyon, in the long run the postal service might plan for a larger space in American Canyon to properly serve customers.

5 comment(s)

nightwatchman wrote on Oct 27, 2009 10:54 AM:

" Kudos to everyone who made this happen, especially Mike Thompson...we love our post office in American Canyon! "

LMW wrote on Oct 27, 2009 5:31 PM:

" nice to know 3 billion is not a high number to Thompson, i know others think it is. Its called making sacrifices during this economy, real leadership gets that. "

LateNightLarry wrote on Oct 27, 2009 7:00 PM:

" What American Canyon NEEDS is a full time post office, open eight hours a day, with a minimum of two clerks, with staggered schedules so the office doesn't close for lunch, and is open normal business hours, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The chances of that happening? Zero, because the Vallejo Postmaster back in 2001 didn't want the branch in the first place, and if given his choice would have stuck us with another limited service contract branch like we lived with for forty years.

My daughter used to live in a village of 250 people, and that big metropolis had a FULLTIME post office, open eight hours a day. In Napa Valley, Rutherford, Oakville, Angwin, and Pope Valley ALL have full time post offices. American Canyon? We're the red-headed stepchild who gets the scraps, if we're lucky.

I wonder what OSHA would say to the fact that the building doesn't have running water or a restroom for the clerk to use? "

NapaWino wrote on Oct 27, 2009 9:09 PM:

" LateNightLarry - I completely agree with you! Even the small post office at the Carneros Inn is open more than ours in AC! Very annoying! "

latenightlarry wrote on Oct 28, 2009 10:27 AM:

" Napa Wino - That little post office at the Carneros Inn is not even a real post office... it's a Contract Postal Unit (CPU) operated by the Carneros Inn under a contract with USPS. The people working there are not postal employees. It's a way for USPS to provide some services in the area without incurring the expense of leasing a building and paying employees.

American Canyon had a contract unit for over forty years, until the last contractor decided he wasn't getting paid enough for the work he did and the post office wouldn't pay him any more so he terminated the contract. When no one else would take a contract, USPS was pretty much forced to bring in that worn out trailer and open a makeshift branch.

I've gone there several times to buy stamps only to have them be out of what I wanted. One time I wanted several books of Forever stamps, and they were OUT. Say what??? A friend wanted to buy several rolls of 28¢ stamps for post cards, and the clerk told her she "couldn't get them". Couldn't get the regular issue 28¢ stamp?

I think part of the problem is that the Vallejo Postmaster doesn't consider AC important, and won't assign one clerk to the branch full time. We get whoever is available after the needs of the main post office window have been met, not before. Having one person there full time might mean that they would take responsibility for ordering the right stamp stock for what their customers need, and would have the common stamps in stock ALL the time. "

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