Some services have been eliminated at the Axtell post office, but postal officials have not yet decided whether to close the office completely.
Meanwhile, officials are studying options to deal with unsafe conditions because of increasing traffic congestion near the Fillmore post office.Services such as stamp sales have been discontinued at the Axtell Post office as the tenure of Sheryl Steiger as officer in charge has come to an end.
A decision as to other changes at the Axtell post office has not been made, according to Charlie Wright, post office operations manager in Salt Lake City. "I realize that with change there is always concern," he said in a posted letter, noting Steiger had been terminated.
Closure of the small post office has been under consideration by postal authorities for the past few years.
Residents expressed concern about the possible closure in February of 1994 and again in 1995. A highway contact station instead of a post office was recommended for Axtell at that time by Lynn Bloxham, U.S. Postal Service supervisor.
Mail delivery will continue daily in existing boxes at the Axtell Post office, but residents will have to travel to Gunnison or Redmond for retail services. Redmond is four miles away and Gunnison is six miles away.
A temporary contract is in effect with Centerfield Postmaster Robert Edwards to deliver mail to the boxes in Axtell. "In the near future we will be contacting you (Axtell residents) to further explain the status of the Axtell Post Office," Wright's notification stated.
The last postmaster in the small unincorporated town of Axtell was Stella Lee Jensen, who retired Jan. 3, 1993. Steiger, who owns the small frame building, has been officer in charge since that time.
In April 1995, when closure was again threatened, residents said the "very life and heart of the town" hung on the Postal Service's decision.
Postal officials have said possible closure was a matter of economics. Expenses have generally exceeded revenue.
They said revenue in 1991 was $5,863 and expenses were $17,132. Comparative figures in 1992 were $6,167 and $18,351, respectively.
After the postmaster retired in 1993, postal officials reported expenses at $10,646 and $9,324 in revenue. In fiscal 1994, expenses decreased again, to $7,894, but sales rose dramatically to $17,795.
Postal authorities attributed the substantial increase to a woman who worked in Gunnison but did most of her employer's postal business at the Axtell post office.
Meanwhile, Fillmore's City Council has notified Wright that residents are concerned an accident could occur at that community's post office. Wright told council members there are several options.
The first would be a cluster mail boxes on each city block, a system similar to that in Delta in the western sector of Millard County's populated areas. Another alternative could be curb-side mail boxes with optional residential delivery service.
Post Service officials will study the proposals for postal service changes in Fillmore, and recommendations will be forthcoming.