Contract closed for campus post office

The U.S Postal Service reported earlier in the year that it would be closing more than 500 contracted post offices around the nation because of billions of dollars lost.
The UTM campus post office was notified six weeks ago that it would lose its Contracted Postal Unit (CPU).
On Friday, Oct. 16, the CPU was closed and now the campus post office can no longer sell U.S. postal money orders or stamps. The office was chosen to lose its paid contract with the U.S. Postal Service to save money. T
The post office will continue to stay open Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Students and faculty can still carry personal mail that is already stamped to the UC office and that mail will be taken to the Martin Post Office.
Jeff Ziegler, the campus post office supervisor, said that mostly the faculty and students will be affected.
Jordan Easterwood, a student who used the post office regularly to buy stamps and send mail, said, "I'm mad about it; what's the point of having a post office if you can't buy stamps? You might as well turn the post office into something useful, like a 24-hour computer lab because the library is always packed."
Easterwood also suggested that mailboxes be downsized because a lot of them do not get used. When he was a freshman, he had to pay post office fees for a mailbox he didn't know he had until late in the semester.
Melessia Whitaker, a senior, said, "It will be a inconvenience to have to go downtown every time I need to purchase a stamp to mail off one letter."
Steve Vantrease, director of the UC, said that other sources have surfaced, such as UPS, but the university is not interested in pursuing another limited contract. UT Knoxville uses Federal Express as their mailing source but Belmont uses UPS.
"It's a big inconvenience but we want to be careful with the next chosen contract," Vantrease said.

He also mentioned that UTM is trying to get a sample copy of Belmont's contract with UPS and if it will allow use of Federal Express. UTM does not want to be limited to using just one provider.

A part-time position was open in the UTM post office, but now the position will not be able to be filled until a new contract with a different provider is established; UTM may even expand positions when that happens.

For more information, contact: Jeff Ziegler, CPS, Mail Center Supervisor, UTM, Martin, TN, 38238, phone 731-881-7790.