Postal plan prompts protest

Judging by the reaction of the 100 or so people who crowded into a third-floor meeting room in downtown Marysville Wednesday evening, the idea of closing a U.S. Postal Service sorting facility in Olivehurst should be stamped "return to sender."

Local public officials and sorting facility employees grumbled through much of the presentation on a closure study by postal service officials, before asking pointed questions and making even more pointed comments.

The study is set to be completed by Jan. 10, with public comments accepted through Dec. 31.

Rosemarie Fernandez, the Sacramento district manager, said a final decision isn't expected until late January or early February.

"Taking an efficiently operating facility and putting it in a nonefficient facility is unacceptable," said Chuck Locke, a union president at the West Sacramento sorting facility where the Olivehurst center's operations would be moved.

He and other speakers pointed out the Olivehurst facility has consistently high efficiency ratings within the postal service, while the West Sacramento site does not. Others questioned how moving operations wouldn't result in worse mail delivery times in the Mid-Valley region, and noted transportation costs would go up because of the longer distances to move mail.

The Olivehurst facility sorts mail from addresses with a 959 ZIP code, an area encompassing Yuba, Sutter, Colusa, Butte and Nevada counties. Postal officials have said mail service would not be affected if the sorting facility is closed, and the 140 or so employees would be largely transferred to jobs elsewhere.

Fernandez defended her recommendation to close the Olivehurst center — described as being in Marysville — while maintaining no final decision has been made, and none will until postal administrators on a regional and federal level review an ongoing study of the facility.

USPS closed the facility briefly in 2006, but later reversed the decision because of mail service delays.

Closing the Olivehurst facility would save the district $4.5 million annually, Fernandez said, and lead to the elimination of about 60 positions.

"Why are we considering doing this?" she said during the presentation. "It makes good business sense. Our equipment in Marysville does not have the volume to run at peak capacity."

The USPS is under an overall mandate to improve efficiency and cut costs, while first-class mail volume drops because of the recession and other factors.

Those attending the meeting, though, were vocally skeptical about whether closing the Olivehurst facility would meet that goal.

"I've seen management try to make changes, I've seen management try to make consolidations," said Ernie Grijalva, another postal employee. "With this, there's no backup plan if it doesn't work."

Many elected officials who spoke made reference not only to mail service, but the economic impact of losing jobs in an area already hard hit by unemployment and recession.

"I would say no other county in California needs these jobs more," said Yuba County Supervisor Hal Stocker, one of four from his board. Four more were from Sutter County, and several county administrators and city council members from Marysville and Yuba City also attended.

State Senate candidate and former Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale, told the anecdote of sending postcards Monday from Marysville and seeing them arrive the next day in Grass Valley. "We have to look at all aspects, not just the $4.5 million, but what does it mean to the people?" he said to postal officials.

"I absolutely understand your frustrations and concerns," Fernandez said, after telling Yuba County Supervisor Roger Abe the data used to make her decision couldn't be released because the study isn't finished.

"How big a bonus do you get for closing us?" someone yelled after she concluded.

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Ben van der Meer at 749-4709 or bvandermeer@appealdemocrat.com. For more Yuba County news, see Ben's blog "Yuba County insider" at appealdemocrat.com.