WESTBROOK, Minnesota (STPNS) --     westbrook —  It is no secret that the Postal Service is swimming in a pool of red ink. Showing annual losses in the billions, the Postal Service  is looking to stop or slow down the flow of huge deficits.

    It seems the Postal Service got caught by the technology boom of the computer industry and internet. Off shoots of services have really cut into the mail revenue sources, not to mention private delivery services like FedX and UPS.



    By now you should have received a form letter from the Postal Service with a survey included, along with a postage paid envelope to return it.  

    According to the letter the Postal Service has established a review process of certain Post Offices known as the POST Plan. The Westbrook Post Office is one of the offices being evaluated under the criteria of the POST plan.

    The Postal Service will be looking at the results of the survey, and unless there is a strong preference for conducting a discontinuance study of the local facility with one of the alternate plans, the Postal  Service intends to continue service in the Westbrook office with window hours reduced to six hours daily. Saturday window hours will remain the same

    Officials of the Postal Service are planning a  community meeting at the Westbrook Senior Center at 7:00 p.m. November 13 to answer questions and provide information about the POST Plan. Information on the results of the survey will be shared with attendees of the meeting. Local Post Office management will answer questions about the plan, and seek input on preference of lobby hours under the new plan.

    POST plan coordinator Janelle Daniels said, “Although the survey results will be known and shared, the Postal Service will not make a final decision regarding this office until after the public meeting. This will enable the  Postal Service to obtain all community input and opinions, from both the surveys and the meeting, before making a final decision.

    Patrons are asked to return the survey in the postage paid envelope provided with the letter and survey by October 30, 2012.