A new credit card you ordered, a bill, maybe a card from a relative — when they come in the mail, people expect them to be delivered.
Residents at XB Ranch Mobile Home & RV Park in Mesa say they received their mail through a mailbox bank on the property. But then that suddenly changed.
"I saw one of those little, small rentable bulldozer things and [a] guy just literally scooping our mailboxes up off of the ground," Laura Ramos explained.
Ramos says she was caught off guard by the mailboxes being demolished and hadn't checked her box recently.
"What if my daughter had a birthday card in there from her grandma?"
An email from MAR Companies, which manages the property, dated May of 2022, states the mailboxes will be removed for an estimated six to eight months while the community is upgraded.
Ramos says she has seen upgrades, including a cinderblock wall replacing a chain link fence, a basketball court, and pavers. But she says those aren't her priority.
"I would have rather had my mail."
So why couldn't residents' mail be dropped off at the office on the property? USPS says it wouldn't be secure and they cannot hand over personal mail without it being safe.
What about a temporary mail bank on the property? MAR says there is no space on the property to put the mail bank during the upgrades.
Residents have had to find other alternatives like spending money on P.O. boxes or forwarding mail to family or friends. Ramos says it has put a big burden on some residents.
"Do you own a car? Do you have transportation to get to a post office box? Do you have another means to send your mail to somebody? Not all of us do," she explained.
The six- to eight-month timeline has come and gone, now nearing the one-year mark.
Why has it taken so long?
Mark Roady, President of MAR Companies, says there are three main factors: supply chain issues, delays with the city regarding permitting, and a labor shortage.
"We didn't anticipate it taking as long as it does," he said.
Roady says they've done big improvement projects at other properties around the Valley but have never dealt with delays like the ones they're facing now.
So, where does the project stand?
Roady says permits have been extended and plans approved - including for new mailboxes. That means construction should ramp up, but he didn't give an end date or tell us what residents should do in the meantime.
"If there's people that it's a dire need, and they need to have the mail at the park, we're happy to work something out with them," he said when asked about possible concessions for residents if delays continue.
The Let Joe Know team reached out to the Arizona representatives for the USPS asking about the situation, if there are penalties the property could face by not offering the mailboxes, and what options residents have to receive their mail.
Here's their emailed response:
The residents are correct. The mailboxes have not yet been reinstalled at that location. Last spring, 2022, the property's management company informed us they were remodeling the mobile home park, taking down the mailboxes in the process, and that mailboxes would be moved to a new location within the park when the remodeling was complete. The management company estimated 6-8 months for completion of the project. As of now, the boxes are still not available. Until the property owner has reinstalled the mailboxes, we are unable to deliver mail to the property. Residents can pick up their mail at the Post Office until the mailboxes are reinstalled. Residents can also have their mail delivered to an alternative location by submitting a temporary Change of Address form. We will deliver it to the location identified by the customer. I don't know of any penalties associated with the owner's delay in reinstalling the mailboxes.
Cluster or bank mailboxes are often used at apartment buildings, condos, and mobile home parks. However, if they break or need to be upgraded, mail delivery can become tricky.
The USPS's Postal Operations Manual states: "Purchase, installation, and maintenance of mail receptacles are the responsibility of the customer." Although there are occasionally some exceptions to the rule, they are rare.
When in doubt about your responsibility, contact your local Post Office.
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