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Lago Vista neighborhood fighting to have mail delivered to them
Residents in Lago Vista are forced to go to their local post office for mail because the postal administration suspended mail services for their neighborhood years ago.
LAGO VISTA, Texas - Walking a bulldog that goes by the name of Macho for Greg Martin is a lot easier than getting his mail.
"It’s a huge hassle, we basically have to go off of the post office hours, so I work till 5 o’clock like most people, I can’t get the mail until Friday when my wife is off," said Martin.
Martin is among 90 residents in his neighborhood that can’t get their mail delivered to them. That’s because it’s is held at the Lago Vista post office several miles away.
Only a handful of longtime residents of the neighborhood off of Boggy Ford Rd get their mail delivered. Postal administrators suspended service for new residence about three years ago according to Sarah Saddler.
"I just don’t get why it’s so hard to put something in, why should we go out of our way to do that, when we moved into these houses they told us to put up mailboxes, and oh they’ll deliver to you right away, make sure your mailbox is up, we put it up - nothing, nothing; and then it was, oh you have to go pick it up here, and I said what the heck, why did they tell us to do this then, and it’s been nonstop back-and-forth, back-and-forth," said Saddler.
An area at the corner of Omaha and Crystal Way has been provided for the installation of a neighborhood cluster mailbox. But city officials say bureaucratic red tape has prevented a box from being set up.
"The holdup now is one document, that I can sign legally as the mayor of the city," said Mayor Ed Tidwell.
It’s a question of liability, according to Tidwell who claims they’ve tried to work out a compromise.
"I asked for a document from the post office saying the city would not be liable for any damages that may occur at the central delivery point should something happen," said Tidwell.
As negotiations continue, a postal employee continues to make mail runs into that neighborhood. But it’s only to a few long-time residents.
"I do I find that crazy, yes," said Tidwell.
The impasse is especially frustrating for Army veteran Tiny Freeman. She specializes in the logistics.
"And when we do get up there, we got to ask specifically, do you want packages or do you want mail because if we don’t specify packages, they won’t go look for packages, so I have missed some packages from the VA, because I didn’t get all of my mail, whenever I went to ask for it, so it’s been a logistical issue to me," said Freedman.
A postal service spokesperson requested FOX 7 Austin to submit questions about the situation. Becky Hernandez with the United States Postal Service released the following statement:
"The Postal Service is a customer-oriented organization that strives to provide excellent service. In the case of the Lago Vista community, the Postal Service has the Cluster Box Unit (CBU) equipment ready for installation. The specific installation date has not been finalized pending the builder entering the required Mode of Delivery Agreement (MOD) with the Postal Service defining the terms and conditions for the installation. Postal management continues making every effort to finalize the MOD, gain access to the approved installation site, install the new CBU equipment and initiate mail delivery for all newly constructed homes in the area."
"A local postal official will again make contact with the developer to finalize the agreement so that the installation can proceed, and delivery to Lago Vista residents can begin. We extend our sincere apologies for any inconvenience that may have been caused. We want to assure our customers in Lago Vista that we are working diligently to resolve their concerns, and thank them for their patience as we work to satisfactorily resolve this matter."
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