Lash thanked as U.S. Mail finally part of ‘Phase 3’
• “Boxes have been ordered and should arrive around April 4 if everything goes as scheduled. We will get them installed as quickly as possible once they arrive.
• “Landscape is putting together a landscape proposal
• “As soon as we receive the boxes we will make arrangements for you to get your keys.”
After waiting more than a year, Bridgemore residents Michael and Jennifer Greene were relieved at the news.
“The USPS told us in December they would soon not allow us to retrieve our mail at the Huxley Road distribution center,” said Michael, who in a previous interview stated the couple had been unable to receive mail at their address since they moved in in February 2021. “That added a great deal of urgency to our need to have this issue resolved.
“We are thankful for Susie’s attention to the matter and that she worked through the complexities with the USPS as needed to secure Phase 3 mail service beginning in April.”
Both the developer and the residents were impacted by USPS policy, which gives the Postal Service autonomy in deciding if mailboxes or kiosks will be the preferred method of delivery in new developments. However, the case of Bridgemore has been a bit tricky since it opened in 2004 and has been under construction in phases ever since.
Lash said the mail delivery issue didn’t begin until 2019, and she only discovered it after the fact, when a new homeowner was notified they would not receive mail at their home address, located in Bridgemore Phase 3.
Michael said he and his wife didn’t realize the problem until after moving in themselves. Within the first week of checking their mailbox, a nearby neighbor told them they would not be receiving mail, and they haven’t.
The couple has been able to visit the mail carrier annex along Huxley Road, which is typically locked to the public, requiring them to bang on the door or hope someone sees them and gives them their mail.
Late last year, Michael reached out to the offices of U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-2nd District) and U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, both of whom confirmed the policy.
This year, for the second time, Burchett has initiated legislation addressing the situation, with the “Easy Access to Mail Act,” requiring the USPS to work alongside municipal governments before determining the type of mail service a community receives.
“Specifically, this bill would prohibit USPS from retroactively requiring home builders to install cluster mailboxes at new housing developments and would require one-time approval from a local legislative body regarding placement of cluster mailboxes,” stated a Burchett office press release.
As USPS maintains utilizing cluster, or kiosk mail services, as a cost savings measure to its department, Lash has said all along she was willing to provide it — except she did not receive clear direction from USPS Customer Service manager Joshua Jones despite repeated attempts to reach him.
As of late February, Jones had reportedly resigned, and Lash said she had been attempting to contact his replacement.
The Greenes had the option of rent a post office box for about $340 a year, which several Bridgemore residents had already done while the matter was in limbo.
Town officials took the matter into their own hands last week, when Farragut Municipal Planning Commission passed a resolution requiring kiosk plans be included in site plans going forward (Please see related story beginning on Page 1A).
