The Crested Butte News reached out to see if Crested Butte Postal Service customers might expect the same change in service since local customers in this area are charged a fee to have a PO Box. The answer appears to be a bit opaque but there is an indication that it is being considered.
“We’re currently evaluating various criteria for Crested Butte Post Office Box holders that take into account local laws, physical barriers, access to rural delivery etc. and reviewing who is eligible for Group E (Free) no fee Post Office Boxes in the future,” responded James Boxrud, strategic communications specialist for the Western Area of the USPS in an email this week. “As you know in Crested Butte, we are actively seeking a new location that will provide adequate space needed for this growing community.”
Boxrud said the USPS has been a longtime institution in Crested Butte and wants to remain a partner in the community. “Crested Butte was established as a town in 1878 and was incorporated in 1880 and we’ve been there since the very beginning,” he wrote. “The people within the town limits traditionally have received their mail at the Post Office box. In fact, the majority of Colorado’s towns do not have city delivery and the Post Office box or general delivery is how mail is received. To illustrate that fact, within 100 miles of driving distance from Crested Butte there are only four towns that have either city or rural delivery: Buena Vista, Aspen, Leadville and Salida.”
As is commonly understood, Boxrud said the employee shortage situation is a huge factor in the Crested Butte area. “In Crested Butte we are not fully staffed, we continue flexing our available resources, maximizing our local personnel and augmenting from the surrounding region to help with the workload,” he explained. “We are proud of the efforts of postal employees in Colorado and the nation, as they define essential public service every day.”