Postal Service no longer plans to close Tucson's Cherrybell center

Tucson’s Cherrybell mail-processing center is no longer on the chopping block.

There were hundreds of facilities nationwide being studied for consolidation, including the Cherrybell center at 1501 S. Cherrybell Stravenue. It was being studied to close and its services would be moved to Phoenix. It was among 57 consolidation studies still open, but the Postal Service announced the end of those studies this week.

“Our mail processing facilities are a critical resource for so many Tucsonans, including seniors and small business owners. I want to thank the members of our congressional delegation and council member (Richard) Fimbres for fighting to keep Cherrybell open,” said Tucson Mayor Regina Romero.

Fimbres was among local and congressional leaders, along with business owners and residents, to protest the closure for more than a decade.

“The announcement is a great victory in our 11½-year effort to keep Cherrybell, Tucson and Southern Arizona’s post office and processing center open and functioning for our community,” said Fimbres in a statement Thursday.

“Cherrybell serves more than 1.5 million people, 26,000 businesses, seniors, veterans, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, the Tohono O’odham Nation and communities in Southern Arizona. The bipartisan work on this showed that our community can come together,” he said.

Fimbres said he is following up to find out about the Delivering for America Plan, a modernization plan, proposed by the Postal Service and Cherrybell’s operations, and about getting local sorting and Tucson’s postmark back.

Presently, mail goes to the Cherrybell center and then is trucked to Phoenix where it is sorted. It then is trucked back to Cherrybell and distributed to mail carriers to be delivered.

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Postal Service officials did not explain when all services will resume at the Cherrybell facility, or if more employees will be hired for additional jobs.

“I am happy about the suspension of the consolidation study,” said U.S. Rep. Raúl Grijalva. “Now, we will look at the modernization plan for our (Cherrybell) facility. We will look at the renewal of services and a full operational analysis of Cherrybell. In the region, a modernization effort will come forward, and it must be done transparently and correctly.”

He said full services have to be restored to Cherrybell for a full operational analysis of the facility be done.

In a news release, the Postal Service said under the modernization plan are “strategies for the development of a mail processing network that enables more precise, efficient, and reliable service. By using best-in-class logistics practices, the Postal Service is driving efficiency and service performance improvement to fuel revenue growth and customer retention.”

“Most importantly, the plan establishes a new operating model that dramatically improves on-time delivery performance. As part of this plan, the Postal Service will re-assess the role of all processing facilities.”

Postal Service officials did not answer email questions or comment further on the modernization plan, and its effects on Cherrybell.

The first phase of Cherrybell’s consolidation by the Postal Service to save money was in February 2013 when it consolidated the processing of mail originating in Tucson to Phoenix.