City leaders address mail delivery concerns impacting College Station apartment communities

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) -KBTX’s ongoing coverage of proposed changes to the Postal Service’s mail delivery in College Station has now garnered the attention of city leaders.

The Postal Service was expected to stop delivering to mailboxes in apartment complexes they now classify as student housing. The postal service did not verify which complexes are affected but sources told KBTX they include The Grove at Southwood, The Trails at Wolf Pen Creek, The Ridge, and the Arbors at Wolf Pen Creek and Tower Park Apartments. While students are residents in many of these complexes, so are seniors, families, and other community members.

Multiple property managers and residents have voiced their concerns surrounding the changes, asserting that they unfairly penalize their community based on their proximity to the Texas A&M University campus. As a result, College Station city leaders are actively seeking answers.

College Station City Councilwoman Elizabeth Cunha expressed her concerns during a recent council meeting.

“I’m probably sure that we can’t do anything about it, but I just wondered if we could send a letter to the U.S. government with a frowny face on it or something just to say that’s really unfortunate,” said Cunha.

Cunha says she spoke out because she felt it was her responsibility as a leader to do so.

“The Post Office is not under our stewardship, right, it’s federal and we’re a city, and so we can’t fix this problem for our residents but we can help our residents speak their voices,” said Cunha.

In the letter shared with KBTX earlier this month and addressed to multiple property managers, the U. S. Postal Service cited section 631.52 of the postal operations manual (POM) as the basis for reclassifying specific complexes near the university as student housing, dormitories, and residence halls.

The relevant section from the POM emphasizes that mail is delivered to dormitory buildings and residence halls when addressed to a specific building. Bulk mail is then delivered to a designated representative of the school or property, who assumes responsibility for further distribution to students and residents. The determination of the proper mode of delivery, in cases without a direct affiliation with the school, rests with the Postal Service.

Mail delivery concerns (Morry Gash/)

However, residents, property managers, and now city leaders are concerned with the post office classification of their complexes. If these changes take effect, residents would have to get their mail from the post office, private mailboxes, or their property manager, which many say they feel is a privacy and liability concern and a big inconvenience.

“We do not rent ‘by the bed’; we are not furnished; we have leases expiring throughout the calendar year, and we lease to anyone that meets our rental criteria,” said one property manager.

“They don’t want their landlords going through their mail. They don’t want to have to go pay for a post office box that’s the equivalent of a raise in their rental price. They are in a diverse residential community and I think their postal needs, need to be respected,” Cunha added.

College Station Mayor John Nichols asked city staff during the meeting if a letter could be drafted to be sent to leaders on the federal level with the hopes of getting some solutions.

“It’s something we ought to raise questions about and make sure we get a clear understanding from the Postal Service as to why they feel like they have to do this and what accommodations they can make to assist those people who are not as mobile as you and I,” said Mayor Nichols.

Councilwoman Cunha stressed her desire to ensure fair treatment for all College Station communities.

“The post office is one of the things established by the constitution. I think we live in the same geographic area, we should have the same access to our postal needs,” said Cunha. “We live in the same geographic area. We pay the same amount of our stamps and yet we’re getting a very different service level, whether you live in Pebble Creek or you live in one of those apartment complexes and I really feel like that our residents are not having equal access to their mail.”

In a previous statement, the postal service said that local leaders followed the postal operations manual in making the decision on delivery methods for the affected complexes.

According to letters sent to impacted communities from the Postal Service, the changes were slated to take effect on Monday. On Tuesday, KBTX checked with some of the complexes, and they reported that their service had not been changed.