<p>A reminder to all who have P. O. boxes at the Ferg to empty your mailboxes and fill out a an address forwarding form before going home for the summer. The post office will contact you during the summer to send you a form to renew your P.O. box and pay a fee, which will enable you to keep the same p.o. box number next year.</p>
<p>Thank you for this reminder.</p>
<p>My D went and did that today and the lady at the post office told her there are major changes coming. Apparently there will be renovations in that area of the Ferg sometime next year and that the University may take over the postal responsibilities. Not surprising with all the Post Offices closing around the country.</p>
<p>Also, if that happened the rates would go up! She told me about it because her brother will be a freshman in Fall 2013 and she wanted to make sure I was aware. Haha! I had to laugh as she is already looking out for her little brother!</p>
<p>Thank you! I mentioned this to D last night as we were figuring out what last minute things had to be done. As happened to many last year, we hadn’t renewed her PO Box during the hasty post-tornado move out so I want to do everything “right” this time.</p>
<p>I was also told that USPS might be leaving in May 2013 if their lease/contract is not renewed. While I work with Campus Mail every day and a change to their services might allow FedEx and UPS packages to be shipped from campus (the nearest FedEx location is a few miles away while the UPS Store is just off campus), the USPS employees are very friendly, know the relevant postage policies, and are open during breaks and many snowstorms even when the rest of UA is closed. It would be a big negative if a change to Campus Mail meant that people would no longer be able to walk in and mail a letter or package, let alone without a surcharge.</p>
<p>Due to the possible changes, the Post Office is only recommending renewing boxes for 6 months. As there is no discount for renewing for a year, this may be a good option. Box holders will get a notice in their box or at the forwarding address when they need to renew their PO Box.</p>