Four San Mateo County Post Offices On Cut List

Thirteen Bay Area post offices, including four in San Mateo County, have been notified they are being eyed for closure, a U.S. Postal Service representative said Tuesday.

The post offices were notified that the Postal Service would begin a pre-proposal stage, which will review every aspect of the site, including  community impact, proximity to other post offices and frequency of use, to decide if the individual outlets will be placed under consideration for discontinuation.

The San Mateo County sites are the Loma Mar, San Gregorio, Colma and Linden (South San Francisco) post offices.

A decision on any site will not be made until after December, according to the USPS. If a site isplaced under consideration, it will enter a 60-day proposal period in which the USPS will hold community meetings hear and address customers' concerns.

"We meet them face-to-face, get a feel for the reaction," USPS spokesman Augustine Ruiz said.

After two 60-day periods, the USPS will make a decision on whether to recommend a site for discontinuation. There are at least seven Bay Area sites that had been recommended  for closure prior to these 13 being announced. Ruiz said she is conscious of the community impact the closures  could have.

"By closing a particular post office, we have to make sure we give access (to our services)," Ruiz said.

For this reason, the USPS is setting up Village Post Offices which will provide services similar to those offered by the current offices but at  third party locations such as grocery stores or pharmacies.

--Bay City News