Federal lawmakers are urging the U.S. Postal Service to reconsider plans to shift services from several mail processing facilities, including one in Fayetteville. Last week 22 members of Congress — including Arkansas Representative Steve Womack — signed a letter addressed to the Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. In the letter lawmakers said consolidating distribution and processing centers would "dismantle parts of the Postal Service’s robust network... creating inefficiencies in the system, especially for local mail."
The Northwest Arkansas Processing and Distribution Center located in Fayetteville is set to move originating mail and package services to Oklahoma City — along with 13 positions — while the facility will be converted into a local processing center, according to a press release from the Postal Service. The changes are part of the 10-year Delivering for America plan meant to modernize the USPS network. At a public input session at the Fayetteville Public Library in November of last year, USPS officials outlined the proposal and dozens of residents, customers and postal employees voiced their opposition to the move.
In a statement Womack expressed concerns that moving services from Fayetteville to Oklahoma City would "reduce processing capabilities in one of the faster-growing areas of our country."
In an email, USPS spokesperson Becky Hernandez told Ozarks at Large the Northwest Arkansas facility proposal was approved in March and will proceed with changes.
