Postal Service investigating Settlers Bay office

WASILLA – The United States Postal Service Office is investigating complaints of slow mail delivery at the Settlers Bay contract post office, a situation that came to a head on Saturday when local residents found the office had been closed.

In an email, public information officer John Masters with the USPS Office of Inspector General (OIG) said special agents, along with USPS inspectors and Postal Service staff, removed mail from the facility on Friday.

Customers can pick up mail at the main Wasilla location from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“On September 18, 2015, Special Agents from the USPS OIG responded to an allegation regarding the possible delay of U.S. Mail at a contract postal unit located in Knik, AK. USPS OIG Special Agents, with the assistance of U.S. Postal Service Inspectors and U.S. Postal Service staff, located and removed mail from the facility and relocated the mail to another Postal Service location for processing and delivery. The relocated mail consisted of Standard, Periodical, Parcel, and First-Class Mail items,” Masters wrote in an email sent to the Frontiersman.

Masters said the allegation could be a violation of Title 18 of United States Code 1703, which prohibits the delay or destruction of mail or newspaper. According to the code Masters cited, anyone who unlawfully delays or destroys mail can be subject to as much as five years in prison as well as fines.

He wrote that investigators do not take the delay of mail lightly.

“The USPS OIG considers the aforementioned allegations to be a very serious matter. When these types of allegations are made, USPS OIG Special Agents vigorously investigate these matters, as we did in this instance. It is important to note that an allegation is merely an accusation. All persons are presumed innocent unless otherwise adjudicated by a court of law.”

Customers who had previously used the Settlers Bay office are being directed to the main Wasilla office to pick up their mail. Masters didn't say how long the investigation might take or how long customers can expect the office to be closed.

Angry customers at the contract office began calling the Frontiersman on Saturday morning after they found the office had been abruptly closed. The contract manager, Nina Vignola, acknowledged that mail had been slow getting to customers in notices she posted on the office’s door as well as to a private Facebook page run by the Settlers Bay Neighborhood watch. Vignola wrote that staff at the location had become overwhelmed by the volume of mail and had been working to find a solution when the abrupt closure took place.

“We had problems meeting these regulations ‘on the clock’ and to process this large volume accurately,” she wrote in a Facebook update shared with the Frontiersman by area resident Bob Winckler.

The owner of the contract to operate the facility, Chuck Spinelli, did not return a message seeking comment on the matter.

The Postal Service OIG said no further information will be released about the investigation at this time. The office is an independent agency within the Postal Service tasked with maintaining the integrity and accountability of America’s postal service, according to Masters’s email.

U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan have offices in Wasilla, and both said through their spokespeople that they're aware of the matter and following the situation closely. A spokesperson for Rep. Don Young said the state's lone congressman is also aware of the situation and following it closely.

On Monday, the three members of Alaska's congressional delegation sent a letter to the OIG asking for clarification as to the nature of the allegations and seeking a speedy resolution to the situation.

Sen. Sullivan's spokesperson in Wasilla, Otto Feather, said he's hopeful the situation can be resolved quickly.

"Our hope is that it won't go beyond this week," he said.

He said contract post offices are used by the USPS to save the department money, an arrangement the Postal Service may need to review in the area, one of the fastest growing in the state.

"With the growth we're seeing occur in the KGB area, we may have to take a close look at that," he said.