The Postal Service is pushing curbside mail delivery, but some in New Port Richey are pushing back.
By ALEX LEARY
Published February 9, 2004
NEW PORT RICHEY - Gary Knochel, a snowbird from Michigan, pulled into his Gulf Harbors driveway last month, looked at his yard and then turned to his wife.
"What the hell?" he remarked in disbelief.
There, next to his driveway on Blue Heron Drive, was a mailbox.
That wouldn't be unusual, except the mailbox was not there when the Knochels left Florida last year. In fact, few people in this community of more than 1,700 homes had a box at that time.
Knochel, 57, soon found out who put the mailbox there and promptly had it removed. But the discovery still bothers him. "No phone call. No letter. Nothing," he said.
The U.S. Postal Service says it placed the box by mistake. But Knochel is not the only one in Gulf Harbors upset with the service's effort to place mailboxes and do away with door delivery - a way to save time and money. More than a few seasonal residents say they returned to Florida to find a mailbox had been installed by their curb.
"It has been brought to our attention U.S. Postal Service (New Port Richey) is currently trying to push their FREE MAILBOXES down our throats," reads a Jan. 24 letter to residents from the deed restriction committee.
Critics decry the mailboxes - metal and black, sitting on a plain wooden post - as cheap and unsightly. They say the boxes are inconvenient for older residents with mobility problems and place bills and sensitive letters in easier reach of others.
"Deed restrictions carry the impact of law. Obviously the post office has just ignored that," said Charlie Caldwell, a committee member who has lived in Gulf Harbors since 1993. He and others say people were told by postal officials that they should take the free mailbox now rather than pay later.
"Nobody has said anything to us about deed restrictions," said Rae DiCapua, postmaster of the New Port Richey Post Office. "I haven't gotten one complaint."
All told, 210 mailboxes were installed.
She sought to dispel rumors about the so-called curbside conversion. First, she said, the program is strictly voluntary and that will not change. And if half of Gulf Harbors homeowners accept a box, that does not mean they will become mandatory for everyone.
"We can't force anyone to change their mode of delivery without their approval," DiCapua said.
If the U.S. Postal Service could, however, virtually every neighborhood nationwide would have curbside delivery, said Gary Sawtelle, spokesman for the Suncoast district. "It's a more efficient form of delivery for us." He said the service has not offered door delivery as an option in new communities since at least the mid-1990s.
The Postal Service mailed letters to residents pitching the mailboxes as a way to keep postage rates down and reduce injuries to letter carriers due to slips, falls or dog bites, "for which homeowners may be held liable."
Carrie Davis, 73, took a mailbox out of worry that her dog might get a hold of the letter carrier.
It is not a problem for her to walk a few yards to the street, she said, and the new mailbox does not look that bad. "I don't think it takes away from the property."
Some residents have dressed up the wood posts by adding ribbons or planting flowers at the base.
Another benefit, the letter said, is outgoing mail is picked up whenever the flag on the mailbox goes up, whether or not a person has mail to be delivered. A box labeled with a house number also will make it easier for police, fire and ambulance personnel in event of emergency, the letter stated. The Postal Service does not provide the stick-on letters.
All that has not moved some Gulf Harbors residents.
"The Post Office is using its powers of persuasion to get us to change our mail delivery style," said Louise George of the deed restriction committee. "They are ramming this down our throats."
She said her primary concerns are for the elderly and mail security, but appearance also matters. When she rides down Floramar she sees boxes that are at different heights and in different locations.
"Aesthetically," she said, "they are terrible."
Karl Kroijer, 87, agreed. "It cheapens the area. Just look at it." He has lived in Gulf Harbors for more than three decades and credits deed restrictions with keeping things nice.
The Postal Service spent $30 for each of the 210 mailboxes it installed, for a total of $6,300. DiCapua said there would be a savings in the long run. She estimated a letter carrier would save 30 to 45 seconds at each home by not having to walk to the door.
"Of course this probably is going to make it more efficient," Caldwell said. But he again evoked the deed restrictions.
With the exception of a few streets, Floramar being one of them, mailboxes are prohibited in Gulf Harbors, Caldwell said. Last week, the deed restriction committee mailed a notice to residents reminding them of that.
"We would greatly appreciate the removal of these mailboxes within seven days to correct this violation," the letter reads. It suggests people who did not give consent for a mailbox to call and have it removed. "By doing so, you are helping retain the value of our community as well as keeping it a neighborhood we are all proud to live in."
A more forceful approach would be to enforce deed restrictions against those who took a mailbox, but Caldwell said that might only cause mail delivery problems for those residents. "It's kind of a Catch-22," he said.
Gulf Harbors Civic Association has limited funds because membership is not mandatory; of the 1,700-plus homes, about 1,000 belong. The money the association has for legal expenses is tied up in cases involving people who put shingles on their roof instead of the required tiles. Caldwell said the group might discuss action against the Postal Service.
For residents, the tactic might be what he called "gentle persuasion." Homeowners would be urged not to take up the Postal Service on its offer and those who received a box in error would be asked to have them removed.
Of course, not everyone feels the same as Caldwell or the other critics. When Steve Gardner moved to Gulf Harbors five years ago, he was surprised mail went to the door. He signed up for a mailbox after learning his mail carrier caught his foot on a sprinkler head in the grass.
"If it keeps him from falling down, I'm happy," Gardner said. "They did it for free, so go ahead."
- Alex Leary can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6247, or toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 6247. His e-mail address is leary@sptimes.com
