Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002 07 22 Regular M Upgrading Partial Service 072202 Regular M PO Resolution 26 COMMISSION AGENDA ITEM M Consent Informational Public Hearin1! Regular X July 22, 2002 Meeting Mgr. /I.....-" / Dept. Authorization REQUEST: City Manager requesting the City Commission to adopt Resolution No. 2002- 026 requesting the U. S. Postal Service to elevate the current branch office status of partial service in the city to a full service post office managed by the city's own postmaster. PURPOSE: Commission action is needed to memorialize the need for upgrading partial service in the community. CONSIDERATIONS: Postal service in Winter Springs is currently provided by a branch office of the Casselberry Post Office. Winter Springs growth and evolution as a full service city demands the services of a full service post office and local postmaster. Considerable evidence of community support will be needed to effect this change. However, as we understand it, this elevation of status would not be more expensive than the current arrangement. Additionally, we believe that a full service post office with our own postmaster would facilitate opportunities to integrate the current suburban style facility into the Town Center concept, in which the post office facility exists as an important traditional down town landmark. FUNDING: No funding is requested at this time. A future funding partnership with the post office "may" be necessary to modify the current building to be compatible with the Town Center. RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the Commission adopt Resolution No. 2002- 26 requesting the U.S. Postal Service to elevate the status of postal service in Winter Springs. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Resolution 2002-26 2. Draft Letter of Transmittal to Postal Service COMMISSION ACTION: . RESOLUTION NUMBER 2002-26 A RESOLUTION OF THE WINTER SPRINGS, FLORIDA CITY COMMISSION REQUESTING THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE TO ELEVATE THE STATUS OF THE WINTER SPRINGS BRANCH OFFICE TO A FULL SERVICE POST OFFICE MANAGED BY POST MASTER AND TO EXPLORE STRATEGIES FOR UPDATING THE DESIGN OF THE CURRENT BRANCH OFFICE FACIILITY TO BE CONSISTENT WITH THE NEW WINTER SPRINGS TOWN CENTER CODE. WHEREAS, as the city of winter springs was chartered as a municipal corporation in 1959 in the name of the Village of North Orlando, Florida; and WHEREAS, the City has been serviced by a branch office of the Casselberry Post Office; and . WHEREAS, the City of Winter Springs has evolved into a full service municipality and recognized as one of the best cities in America for its quality of life and excellence in municipal services; and WHEREAS, the population of the City of Winter Springs has surpassed the population of the other communities. served by the Casselberry Post Office; and ,-- . . . WHEREAS, the residents of Winter Springs desire to have their own full service Post Office and a local Postmaster responsive to their growing needs; and WHEREAS, the City of Winter Springs endorses the wishes of its citizens to have a full service Post Office and local Postmaster responsive to their needs; WHEREAS, the City of Winter Springs desires to work with the U.S. Postal Service in modifying its branch office facility to be more consistent with the architecture and design code ofthe City's new Town Center; and . ,r . . . c, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOL VED THAT THE WINTER SPRINGS CITY COMMISSION REQUESTS THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE TO ELEV ATE THE CURRENT BRANCH OFFICE STATUS OF WINTER SPRINGS TO A FULL SERVICE POST OFFICE MANAGED BY THE CITY'S OWN POSTMASTER. BE IT FURTHER RESOL VED THAT THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE ENTER INTO DISCUSSIONS WITH CITY OFFICIALS FOR THE PURPOSE OF JOINTLY EXPLORING STATEGIES FOR UPGRDING THE CURRENT POST OFFICE FACIILITY TO BE MORE COMPATIBLE WITH THE NEW WINTER SPRINGS TOWN CENTER CODE. PASSED AND ADOPTED THIS 22ND DAY OF JULY, 2002. $z. {lIll4leJJ lI./I(jj(eg/ f /la(J(j /l(jJ<e{blllo Jet 71:7' /la/lul anti ea{{Jed l/llo Jeat 10- 6e #rJ:et!. PAUL P. PARTYKA, MAYOR ATTEST: CITY CLERK DATE: ..:'. ~ . . . ... DRAFT July 17,2002 Charles J. Ricci, Acting District Manager U.S. Postal Services Central Florida District P.O. Box 999800 Mid Florida, FL 32799-9800 Dear Mr. Ricci: On behalf of the Mayor, City Commission, City staff and residents of Winter Springs, Florida I am transmitting herein Resolution No. 2002-26 formalizing the city's support of a local initiative of Winter Springs residents to elevate the status of the postal service in Winter Springs. As discussed in the attached article published in the Excellence in Seminole Magazine, Winter Springs is a very rapidly growing and dynamic city voted the best city in the United States in which to buy a home by MSN Advisory Service. Our population today ,is approximately 3~,000 with. an estimated build out of approximately 45,000 by 2010. We are obviously very proud of our ranking as one of America's great cities. The stature of our city is an outcome of the positive leadership we enjoy in public, private, and civic oriented organizations that translates excellence to all aspects of our community. As you know, Winter Springs is serviced by a branch office of the Casselberry Post Office. That office is made up of the City of Casselberry, the City of Winter Springs and the Fern Park branch. Ironically, Winter Springs is clearly the dominant growth center in the Casselberry Post Office as currently organized. There is a ground swell of support in our community to upgrade our branch office status managed by a branch manager to our own full service post office with our own local postmaster. There are a number of reasons for this initiative. Firstly, as stated earlier, Winter Springs is the dominant growth center in the current area served by the Casselberry Post Office. As such, it does not appear reasonable for Winter Springs to be subordinate to the needs of the residents of Casselberry and Fern Park. Clearly, Casselberry and Fern Park have their own issues to deal with without having to . . . . DRAFT worry about those of Winter Springs. For example, we are aware that employees of the Winter Springs Branch office have admitted that occasionally a divergence of resources occurs when one or another of the offices experiences shortage of manpower as a result of sick leave, personal emergencies, etc. Since the Postmaster serving this area presently resides at the Casselberry facility, it would seem likely that the Casselberry office would receive preferential consideration during stressful situations occurring at both offices. An autonomous Winter Springs Postmaster would feel a greater obligation to provide the best possible postal service to Winter Springs residents. Secondly, a community's postmaster has a long-standing tradition of being an important leader of a community. We desire to have this important position of leadership in our community and his/her participation in the many events and causes in our community. Consistent with this positive role in the community, we prefer the status and continuity of a postmaster that lives in our community and is not tempted by relocations and/or promotions to other cities. While the Postal Service no longer requires a postmaster to live in the community he/she serves, we believe that a stronger sense of commitment to the community will naturally develop in a postmaster identified at least by title with Winter Springs. Thirdly, just as a postmaster has a long-standing traditional role of status and leadership in a community, the post office facility itself is a historical icon of down town America. The design of the current branch office facility was compatible with past days when Winter Springs was little more than a suburban residential community of Orlando lacking a traditional "down town" identity. Those days are rapidly disappearing into history. The new Winter Springs Town Center.____ is under construction. This new Town Center or traditional "down town" represents the culmination of six years of planning and broad scale community participation in a decision to invest millions of dollars in public funds to leverage private development of a 500 acre traditional down town. The current suburban style post office facility, design is incompatible with that concept and architectural style. We need to work with the postal service in an effort to bring the current suburban designed facility into a design more compatible with the new down town. However, under the current arrangement, we have found just getting the signage of the building changed to be quite a task. We believe if we had post office status and our own postmaster this simple change could have been easily accomplished. We further believe that post office status and our own postmaster is going to be essential to decision making on a larger scale compatible with the reality that Winter Springs is now a full service city with its own municipal identity. In summary, Winter Springs is rapidly evolving from a residential suburb of Orlando into a full service city with its own identity as one of America's great cities. We need the status of our postal service to evolve with that reality. Relatedly, we want the Chief .;, . . . DRAFT Postal Official to live in our community, not some other community. We want our Chief Postal Official to have the authority to be more responsive to our needs and issues. We want our Chief Postal Official to be more involved in the leadership of our community, more connected to the people in our community, and more responsive to their changing needs. We want the facility to be consistent with the architecture of our new Town Center Design Code. In closing, for all the reasons mentioned above, we believe a decision to elevate Winter Springs status to a full service post office with our own local postmaster will be a good decision for both Winter Springs and the Postal Service. I will be more than happy to provide you with any additional information you need to . help you with your response to our request. Please contact me at your convenience at 407-327-5957. Sincerely, Ronald W. McLemore . City Manager /jp cc: Mayor and Commission Attachment . 072202 Leiter of Transmittal