Perryville rejects requiring curbside mailboxes

PERRYVILLE, Mo. -- The Perryville Board of Aldermen at its regular meeting Tuesday night discussed and ultimately decided to "gracefully decline" a measure suggested by the local postmaster that would mandate all residential mailboxes be placed near the curb.

Perryville postmaster Craig Slate attended a meeting last month and proposed the city impose the mandate to pre-empt a possible similar mandate that could be issued by the U.S. Postmaster General.

Before the meeting, Mayor Debbie Gahan said she was unsure the mandate was a "foregone conclusion" and still had many concerns.

"We're just not certain this is going to happen," she said. "We have heard no other information to back this up. I just don't want to rush into it."

At the meeting, the mayor also cited concerns about property owners digging holes in their yards and possibly striking underground pipes.

Slate told the board the mandate would come at no cost to residents as he had funds that could be used for it.

City administrator Brent Buerck said it was a "very strategic and interesting proposition," but agreed with the rest of the board that it likely would not be popular among most residents.

"If we decline to take action, we may lose the opportunity to have this paid for," he said. "Of course, it may be a situation where no action is actually necessary, at least, not for a while."

Another problem that concerned the board was the effect moving mailboxes could have on senior citizens.

"We have to take into consideration the elderly that would have to make that extra walk to reach their mailboxes," said Gahan. "I just don't see this being a very popular move on our part."

Alderman Doug Martin said he had looked into the matter after Slate's presentation and found no information to suggest a mailbox mandate was on the horizon.

Other members of the board said they too had heard no other discussions of such mandates and agreed immediate action was not necessary.

Slate was out of the office Tuesday and unavailable for comment. He did not attend the board meeting that night.

Gahan said if the board should hear news of a mailbox mandate in the future, they would be more than willing to revisit the issue.

"We would certainly be willing to bring the issue back up when it becomes more of a sure thing," she said. "Who's to say there wouldn't still be those funds for it in the future? Why rush and make everyone move their mailboxes for something that might not happen?"

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

Perryville, Mo.