Postal Service to begin community process for the proposed relocation of Gypsum Post Office

On Friday, Oct. 7, the United States Postal Service issued a public notice that it has initiated a process for the proposed relocation of the Gypsum Post Office. 

“Due to the need for a larger facility, the Postal Service must relocate retail services to a yet-to-be-determined location within the zip code of 81637 or the expansion of current location,” read a press release sent out on Friday. 

According to the release, “the desired size of the new facility should be approximately 6,000 to 8,000 square feet with adequate parking.”

Users of the main Gypsum Post Office (located at 100 Oakridge Court) will receive a postcard from the federal agency with more information regarding the process.

James Boxrud, Postal Service spokesperson for the Western Area of the United States, wrote in an email to the Vail Daily on Friday that this notice means the agency has “begun the community contact process,” outlined in the agency’s code.

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The specific section of the code referenced details of the process for relocating retail services as well as adding new retail service facilities.

According to Boxrud, “the next steps in that process will begin within 60 days at the end of the Peak Season projects,” referring to the first quarter of the fiscal year from October to December.

“Meanwhile, the USPS will begin a search for the appropriate space solution to house postal operations,” Boxrud wrote.

The code outlines the process and timeline for the Postal Service when it comes to relocation. This includes identifying the community and engaging with local elected officials; notifying the community and arranging for a public presentation; setting a public meeting to present the proposal, which will discuss reasons for relocating, requirements for the relocation and more; considering any comments and appeal, and identifying any new site.

“The relocation project will consist of procuring a suitable substitute location, as close as reasonably possible to the existing location. Retail Services will continue at the current location until necessary preparations are completed at the new location,” the release reads.

According to the release, the community can send comments to: United States Postal Service, Attn Gypsum, CO MPO Relocation, PO BOX 27497, Greensboro, NC 27498-1103.

The Gypsum Post Office has faced numerous challenges surrounding “inadequate space,” according to a previous interview with Gypsum Town Manager Jeremy Rietmann.

In January 2022, Rietmann said that despite Gypsum having one of the largest populations in Eagle County, it had a proportionately small post office space, which was leading to challenges. These challenges, he said, included parking lot traffic flow and safety concerns; long wait times for counter service; inadequate building space, both for package delivery as well as the interior space for mailboxes, customers, mail sorting, customer service provision, and staff; and a building and parking lot that are in poor condition and in a state of disrepair.

With these challenges, the town of Gypsum began communicating and working toward solutions with the postal services. This included the completion of a “space constraint study” of the Gypsum location, Rietmann said.

Rietmann told the Vail Daily in September that he believes this study occurred “sometime between about Jan. 15 and March 15, 2022.”

Following this study, the town was “notified verbally through our regional town manager meetings with USPS this spring that the Gypsum Post Office is ‘space constrained’ and will need a new post office,” he added.

No further details were provided as to how this determination was made. In August, the Vail Daily requested a copy of this space constraint study — as well as one presumably conducted at the Avon Post Office — both from Boxrud as well as through the Freedom of Information Act.

However, these requests were denied, under the premise that they are considered exempt from FOIA disclosure due to their proprietary nature, according to the response from the agency. 

The exemption these fall under, according to the letter, are meant to protect “information of a commercial nature, including trade secrets, whether or not obtained from a person outside the Postal Service, which under good business practice would not be publicly disclosed.”

USPS Real Estate Specialist Robb Groetzinger has been assigned to the relocation process at the Gypsum Post Office, and according to Rietmann, they have been in contact, including Rietmann connecting Groetzinger with local developers who have land holdings and development capability.

As Gypsum moves forward, progress with some other post office challenges in Eagle County remains somewhat stalled. While regional meetings have continued to occur with Eagle County municipalities as well as other mountain towns, both Avon and Vail have made little progress on some of their identified challenges.

In Avon, Council member and Mayor Pro Tem Amy Phillips said that a space constraint study was also conducted on the Avon Post Office. However, town officials were told that the location was not space constrained.

“When we pressed for details, none were given,” Phillips said.

In September, the Vail Daily asked for confirmation of this study and the outcome from the regional USPS spokesperson but was not given a response.

In Vail, rather than have a post office that constituents and representatives feel is too small for the community it serves, the town has identified that its space — which was previously used for regional distribution — may be too large for the service it provides and could potentially be used more efficiently to serve housing needs.

However, George Ruther, the town of Vail’s housing director, said that it has yet to engage with the Postal Service on any discussions surrounding this.

“We have reached out to the folks at the Vail Post Office in hopes of scheduling a meeting to discuss and better understand the future programming needs of the local post office,” Ruther said.

Ruther added that the idea behind the meeting would be to “collaborate on solutions that meet the needs of the Vail Post Office and the citizens of the Vail community, including better overall utilization of the site.”

“Our hopes are that through discussions with the Post Office we might be able to create a solution to what we have been told is a challenge for all employers in the Town of Vail, including the Post Office, the lack of housing for employees to live,” Ruther said.