A handwritten note left on a message board at the Clark post office informing customers that the location will no longer be accepting packages from UPS and FedEx has frustrated North Routt residents.

“Up here in North Routt there’s a lot of people, including myself, where UPS and FedEx won’t deliver to your physical address because they deem you’re too remote, or your driveway is too long or narrow — you know there are a lot of different reasons,” said Andy Puszman, whose has had P.O. Box in the Clark Store for years.

“What I’ve always done is addressed it to the physical address of the post office and then put my P.O. Box (number) to help the person figure out what box to put a notice in, and now, they’re turning away all UPS and all FedEx deliveries,” he added.

Puszman said the note was posted July 15, and in the past, the post office employees have been placing packages in the box. He believes the staff changes are part of the reason that the office is no longer accepting packages from UPS and FedEx.

The U.S. Postal Service announced in January that it would not be renewing contracts with UPS and FedEx, meaning that the those who had come to depend on those last-mile deliveries would no longer be able to pick up packages at the post office.

The news left Puszman, who lives north of Columbine, wondering how he will receive packages.

“The Postal Service has established nationwide procedures for all aspects of its operations, including mail handling and delivery. These guidelines ensure consistency for customers and employees across the country, whether they are in Clark or Denver,” said James Boxrud, who works in strategic communications for the United States Postal Service.  

“At the Clark office, employees are following the established policy. In Clark, the Postal Service uses P.O. Box numbers to deliver mail. Our automated, modern sorting processes depend on standardized addressing formats; ballots, mail orders, prescription drug companies and every other mailer rely on this information,” said Boxrud.

He said that previous employees at the Clark location may not have followed proper procedures with package delivery for a market-dominant office, and some customers may be experiencing problems as the new employees are now following the Post Office’s policies.

“Our new employees have been trained on our procedures, and we encourage all customers to use their proper address on all correspondence, in alignment with national postal standards,” Boxrud said.

UPS is no longer delivering packages to the United States Postal Service for last-mile delivery due to the end of the UPS SurePost Program. This means that UPS is now responsible for delivering its packages, including those previously handled by USPS, for the final leg of the journey. 

This change affects deliveries to P.O. Boxes and military addresses, which are exclusively handled by the Postal Service. Boxrud added that FedEx previously used USPS for last-mile delivery through their SmartPost service, and they have largely transitioned those volumes to their own FedEx ground network.

“The Postal Service has established nationwide procedures for all aspects of its operations, including mail handling and delivery. These guidelines ensure consistency for customers and employees across the country, whether they are in Clark or Denver,” Boxrud said.

“At the Clark office, employees are following the established policy. In Clark, the Postal Service uses P.O. Box numbers to deliver mail. Our automated, modern sorting processes depend on standardized addressing formats; ballots, mail orders, prescription drug companies and every other mailer rely on this information,” he added.

Boxrud said that previous employees at the Clark location may not have followed proper procedures with package delivery for a “market-dominant office”, and some customers may be experiencing problems as the new employees are now following the Post Office’s policies that came into effect in January.

Boxrud said it is important for customers who use a P.O. Box to address their packages properly. Customers should always use their name, P.O. Box address, town and state — not their physical street address — for general deliveries.  For deliveries coming from companies that don’t accept P.O. Box addresses customers can use a alternate addressing method that includes their name, the customer’s physical street address, followed by their P.O Box address, town, state and zip code.

Unfortunately for customers like Puszman who has no way to have packages delivered directly to his home the frustration is likely to continue after the Postal Service parted way with private delivery companies like UPS and FedEx. Puzsman said he has reached out to the post office, county commissioners as well as state and U.S. legislators, but has yet to receive any answers for his circumstance.