Rulo postal customers have until Aug. 14 to tell the U.S. Postal Service how the permanent closure of the community’s post office would affect them.
The Postal Service is conducting a discontinuance feasibility study of the Rulo Main Office. The study is part of the formal process used to determine whether an office should be permanently closed. No final determination has been announced.
Postal services have not been offered at the Rulo office since it was placed under emergency suspension Dec. 31, 2018. According to a July 31 notice sent to customers, the suspension followed the termination of the Postal Service’s lease by the property owner. The Postal Service said no suitable alternative location was available in Rulo.
Since the suspension, Rulo customers have received postal products and services through the Falls City Main Office at 1520 Harlan St., 9.27 miles from Rulo.
Other nearby offices include the White Cloud, Kansas, office at 214 Main St., 8.56 miles away and the Craig, Missouri, office at 103 S. Main St., 10.12 miles away.
The Postal Service said permanently closing the Rulo office would not change the services currently offered through the Falls City office. Rulo post office box customers would continue receiving their mail in Falls City.
If the Rulo office is permanently closed, the Postal Service said the status of affected customers would change from temporary to permanent in its system. Customers’ post office box numbers and the Rulo ZIP code, 68431, would remain the same.
The Postal Service had scheduled a virtual community meeting July 31 to provide information, answer questions and receive comments.
“We value your opinions during this review process,” Shane McLaughlin, manager of Post Office Operations, wrote in the notice.
Responses must be received by Aug. 14 to be included in the feasibility study and considered before a final decision is made.
Written comments may be hand delivered to the Falls City Main Office or mailed to:
Manager Customer Relations
Dawn Cook
7900 Hickman Road
Des Moines, IA 50324
The Postal Service said comments will become part of a publicly available record. Names and contact information will be removed, but the comments may be available for public review.
Federal regulations require the Postal Service to consider several factors before closing or consolidating a post office. Those factors include the effect on the community, the effect on postal employees, the Postal Service’s obligation to provide effective and regular service to rural communities and small towns, potential economic savings and other factors the Postal Service considers necessary.
Community members who want the Rulo office preserved may use their comments to provide specific information about local postal needs, the effect of traveling to another community for service and any suitable locations that could be considered for a Rulo facility.
After the questionnaire responses and community input are collected, the Postal Service said a proposal will be posted in the retail lobby of the Falls City Main Office.
If the Postal Service decides to proceed, federal regulations require public notice of the proposal and a public comment period lasting 60 days. Any final determination must be issued in writing after those comments are considered.
People regularly served by the Rulo post office would have 30 days after a final determination is posted to appeal the decision to the Postal Regulatory Commission. A permanent discontinuance could not take effect sooner than 60 days after the final determination is posted.
