Cresco downtown business owners and USPS reach compromise on CBUs

cbu-1CRESCO – On June 2nd the Cresco City Council met again and the CBUs were once more discussed, but this time with a resolution to the issue in sight.

“I thought the we had a productive meeting,” said Cresco Bicycles co-owner Paul Lovell when asked by Mayor Bohle of the result of the committee meeting. “We got alternate sites located for the CBUs. As far as I know it is amenable to everybody.”

The CBU Committe, organized by Cresco Mayor Mark Bohle, agreed to a proposition, the focus of which is to find locations for the CBUs off of Elm St. The existing CBUs will be moved to 2nd avenue west, 3rd avenue east, North Park Place, and South Park Place.

cbu-2“Most people are happy to go to a CBU,” said Postmaster Mary Stivers when asked if business owners preferred CBUs to putting in their own mailboxes at their place of business. She cited a number of benefits to CBUs, including the additional security provided by the units, as well as removing the need of business owners to “work around their vacations or make their employees get their mail.”

Stivers also gave warning that eventually there will be CBUs in other locations in town without mailboxes, specifically some residential areas, in addition to the CBUs already in place. This again raised concern from Lovell. “The issue is not the CBUs. It is the location and there is no input,” said Lovell in response to hearing about CBUs being placed in residential areas. “As a homeowner I would not want one plopped in my yard.”

cbu-3Stivers quickly assured him and others who may have been concerned that the CBUs would not be placed in anyone’s front yard, but rather on street corners where they would be more out of the way.

“We’ve done the business section. We have completely different requirements (for CBUs) in residential sections,” said Stivers.

Stivers cited safety issues as mandating the need for CBUs in certain neighborhoods with dogs that run loose and pose a threat to her mail carriers.

“My carriers do not want to get bit,” said Stivers, explainng her position. “I do not want to see my people injured. If people choose not to restrain their dogs those will be the first areas we will be looking at.”

Chief of Police Tim Ruroden cautioned that owners who do not restrain their dogs may be fined, and perpetual violators risk having their animal removed from the City of Cresco.

“Thank you for getting together and working this out,” said Mayor Bohle as they finally moved on to other business.

CBU issue history

Two weeks ago business owners along Elm Street were greeted with the surprise installation of several centralized box units (CBUs). Business owners raised concern over what they felt was the unattractive appearance of the units, the inconvenience they pose to pedestrians, and especially the lack of communication between the downtown business owners, the city council, and the Cresco USPS.

After a lengthy discussion at the May 19 Cresco City Council meeting a CBU Committee was formed at the suggestion of Mayor Bohle, consisting of Postmaster Mary Stivers, Paul Lovell, Jim Holstrom, and Council member Jan Carman.

A few days later the committee met and discussed possible solutions to the issue.

via Cresco Times > News > Cresco downtown business owners and USPS reach compromise on CBUs.

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