Questions remain about Knik-area post office

WASILLA — It’s been nearly a month since the contract post office in Settlers Bay closed, and local residents still have little clarity on what will happen with their local mail service.

According to the U.S. Postal Service, the contract with the facility’s previous owner, Chuck Spinelli, has been terminated, and the service is looking for someone to take the contract over as soon as possible.

“The US Postal Service is actively pursuing a new contract with potential suppliers. Per the request from Mr. Spinelli, we are looking in to the process for removing the 1698 Post Office boxes and other postal owned equipment from his facility,” wrote USPS Alaska District marketing manager Dawn Peppinger in an email to Congressman Don Young’s office that was shared with the Frontiersman. “We are moving through the new contract process as expeditiously as possible to resume service in the Knik area.”

On Thursday, she said rumors that the contract had already been awarded were untrue.

“We gave everybody a deadline of Monday so we can send them the solicitation packet,” she said.

Peppinger said she hopes that after the deadline, a new vendor can be chosen within a week.

The Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General launched an investigation into the facility last month over allegations that mail wasn’t being delivered in a timely fashion. The privately-run contract facility was abruptly closed on Sept. 18, with agents arriving to remove mail and other property from the building.

That investigation continues, and the OIG has been mum on its results.

“Because of the ongoing status of the investigation no additional information can be released at this time,” wrote John Masters, the assistant special agent in charge of the case, in response to a request for more information.

Vignola said she had hoped to take on the contract herself, but was told she couldn’t by the USPS due to the ongoing investigation. Instead, she said she plans to open her own private post office in the same location as the previous contract location.

“I think a lot of the same customers will come back,” she said.

Vignola said she was surprised when the USPS terminated the previous contract because she’d been working with the USPS to come up with a solution to the high volume of mail.

“I was just trying to work on the problem of our growth,” she said.

Vignola said she was saddened by the abrupt end to a job she’d done for a decade — one in which she’d grown to become part of the Settlers Bay community

“It was bad, it hurt, I’m not going to lie,” she said.

Still, she’s determined to make a go of things as a private business.

“It’s like a family,” she said.

The abrupt closure left Knik-area customers driving about 20 minutes into Wasilla to pick up their mail. Peppinger said the USPS has hired additional workers to deal with the extra workload and has a dedicated line at the Wasilla post office for former Settlers Bay customers.

“We’re trying to make it so they have as short a wait as possible,” she said.

She said the USPS is hoping the interruption in local mail for Settlers Bay customers will be over soon and that the contract will be awarded quickly.

“We’re hoping for a short turnaround,” she said.