Squamish residents and District of Squamish council both sent the same message to Canada Post this week: they don't want community mailboxes (CMBs).
By the end of a public meeting at the Sea to Sky Hotel on Wednesday (Mar. 2), a Canada Post Corp. (CPC) representative said he would tell the mayor the residents served by the Garibaldi Highlands post office don't want to be switched to a community mailbox (CMB) system.
The recommendation is a significant change from the beginning of the meeting when Brad Moore, the Canada Post pacific region coordinator of delivery planning, said the Crown Corporation was recommending residents above Highlands Way South be served by community mailboxes while everyone else in the Garibaldi Highlands and Garibaldi Estates continue to be serviced by the existing post office.
At the end of the meeting, Bob Taylor, a manager of communications with Canada Post, said: "What we got from this meeting is that the majority has a concern and that you don't want to have community mail boxes in the existing Garibaldi Highlands area. We will be contacting the mayor and informing him of the outcome of this meeting tonight."
He asked for a show of hands from the capacity crowd indicating if he correctly understood the feelings of those gathered at the meeting. Almost every person in the Sea to Sky Hotel's Mamquam Room raised their hands and indicated Taylor correctly understood how residents felt.
During a question and answer session following a five minute presentation from the Canada Post representatives many residents expressed concerns over vandalism, litter, mail theft, the potential location of CMBs, the safety of women and elderly people picking up their mail after dark and the future of the Canada Post workforce in Squamish.
Taylor said CMB location decisions are made in consultation with the community and the CPC employees or contractors deal with litter, snow removal and vandalism issues. He said theft from the mailboxes is a police issue.
Chris French proposed CPC consider maintaining the status quo for established homes and make developers in new neighbourhoods install CMBs for the new homes expected in the community.
"All new developments are going to be in new subdivisions, give them the community boxes and let us keep our existing boxes," he said prompting loud applause.
A man who did not volunteer his name said he lived through the change to a CMB system in North Vancouver.
"All the problems were realized," he said of concerns expressed by residents at the meeting. The former North Vancouver resident said he is now a 17-year Squamish commuter who likes the current postal service and wants it to remain as it is.Robin Garland identified herself as a senior who lives on Nairn Way. She said she walks from her home to the post office in 12-minutes. She too said she wanted her service to remain as it currently exists.
Former District of Squamish councillor Norm Verner argued Canada Post is now operating like a business selling cards and telephones so it should pay leases for the land occupied by CMBs.
The postal officials countered by pointing out the CMBs provide a service to the community. Moore noted BC Hydro doesn't lease the land its electrical boxes occupy and he said no municipal or provincial legislation can force lease agreements because Canada Post is federally regulated. Federal law always supersedes lower government legislation.
There was some debate during the meeting over who initiated the current discussion on the future of the postal service in Squamish.
Moore said the discussion was initiated by Squamish's growth.
He sent a letter to Squamish's mayor on Sept. 30, 2004 to report the CPC was reviewing the delivery networks in Squamish.
"Garibaldi Highlands postal station will reach maximum postal box usage in the very near future followed by Brackendale," Moore wrote. "Therefore, it is recommended that the postal box delivery boundary (IE; residents/businesses within a four to six block radius of the postal station be established. Those residents/businesses outside of that boundary and not within a convenient walk to the postal station, should have their mail delivered via Community Mail Boxes."
Moore finished the letter by proposing CPC meet with the mayor to discuss the growth in Squamish and how it would impact postal service.
A meeting was held and the issue became public when a Dec. 4 letter from the Squamish Chamber of Commerce to the mayor was published as part of the District of Squamish Council agenda package for a regular council meeting on Jan. 4. The Chief reported the contents of the chamber letter. The mayor reported he met with Moore in December and expected to hear back from him once Moore spoke to his colleagues at the CPC.
Moore reported back and indicated the CPC wanted to hold a public information meeting in March.
District of Squamish Council passed a motion on Tuesday (Mar. 1) indicating council supports consultation on the future of postal service in Squamish but it does not support community mailboxes for Squamish at this time.
According to Moore, Squamish, Oliver and Sooke are the last large communities in B.C. resisting the transition to CMBs.
Tim Armstrong, a representative from the Canadian Union of Postal Workers, was at the meeting making a case for door-to-door delivery service. He said it is the most secure form of service and it eliminates the concerns associated with CMBs.
Canada Post officials pointed out expansion of door-to-door delivery service has been very limited since 1975 and Squamish isn't being considered for door-to-door delivery.
