Mailbox update from September 5, 2022

The Stonebrook HOA Board of Directors along with the available Mailbox Captains met September 5, 2022 to discuss the status and next steps of the mailbox project.

The HOA has been working with the USPS closely to roll out the new mailboxes for the neighborhood for over 6 months. The process lined out by the USPS has been followed however there is a clear stall in the process we have learned given mail delivery for some households has been paused. Any mail that has not been placed in the former silver cluster box unit (CBU) for each address is being held at the post office on 4th street. The problems that have arisen are surprising to the HOA given the legwork done ahead of install. The board is actively working to correct the problems as quickly as possible. The HOA is beholden to the USPS staff’s willingness to respond and coordinate the necessary details.

A few points to be aware of:

· There are 316 homes in the Stonebrook subdivision. Currently there are 412 mail slots/boxes in the former silver CBUs. Meaning, the former silver CBUs hold 100 extra mail slots that are not for Stonebrook homes. This fact is why the locations of mailboxes for some has changed. The HOA made the decision to buy new mailboxes to service the 316 homes in Stonebrook subdivision. That does trigger a new route to be established for the mail. Had the HOA purchased the same number of former silver CBUs, it would have again resulted in 100 extra mailslots/boxes that would be unused and remain empty 100% of the time. This would have been a substantial cost to the HOA.

· At no time was the HOA aware the USPS would hold or stop delivery of mail through this transition. Had the HOA known this could or would happen, the HOA would have left the former silver CBUs in place and installed the new boxes next to them, removing the former silver CBUs at a later date. The HOA believed the process and procedures were in place to move to the step to install the new mailboxes for mail delivery to be coordinated right away.

· The current solution the HOA has identified to resume mail delivery is to secure the former silver CBUs with straps and tables in the location of the former silver CBUs. If you are not comfortable with that solution for your mail to be delivered to the former location, the HOA has recommended you place your mail on hold. Follow this link to do so here.

· Upon placing your mail on hold, you can collect your mail daily at the 4th street post office. The hold can remain in place for 30 days. Picking up mail while the hold is absolutely possible.

· The HOA Board of Directors are communicating regularly amongst each other to resolve this as quickly as possible.

A few additional clarifying points:

· The USPS has been engaged from the first step - the USPS has moved much slower than anticipated on the process. The HOA has proactively worked to roll out this process smoothly. We are as surprised that the process has not gone smoothly with the effort, time, and planning on the front end.

· The mailboxes were ordered from the USPS catalog of mailboxes and are indeed approved mailboxes by USPS.

· The new mailboxes offer individual mailboxes twice the size as the former silver CBUs mailbox slots. They will fit 2 priority mailboxes in each box.

· Each new mailbox has one parcel locker. Should the package not fit in the individual mailbox slot, the parcel locker will be used. If the parcel locker is full, the package will likely be delivered to the home as is the current process for full parcel lockers.

The new mailboxes cannot be used until the USPS has confirmed the new routes. Stonebrook has 2 routes for mail delivery. The routes must be confirmed and approved by the local office and the Salt Lake City post office. We did not understand the timeline for this to be done was much longer than anticipated. The local USPS did not meet the promised timeline we understood them to agree to.

The local mail delivery people from USPS have been extremely patient and helpful. They seem to be delivering mail as they can to households and temporarily secured former silver CBUs. Any delay is not their fault. They are executing the instructions from the 4th street post office.

Further questions and concerns should be emailed to stonebrookhomeownershoa@gmail.com.