PECAN GROVE, Texas – It’s been nearly three months since Hurricane Beryl and the same amount of time people in one Pecan Grove community say they’ve had their mail delivery service disrupted.
It’s all because of a broken cluster mailbox that no one is claiming responsibility to fix.
Customers say this inconvenience has impacted crucial deliveries like medicine, and despite multiple calls for help, nothing has been done for months.
“It’s been rickety for a while and the day that Beryl blew threw here, it blew it completely over,” said USPS customer, Jimmy Brooks.
Brooks is talking about parcel mailboxes near his home that are now unsecured, which means deliveries to it have stopped.
Instead of packages, the broken mailboxes have been on their side so long they’re collecting water. It’s stagnant, and now a breeding ground for mosquitos.
“We’ve only got two parcel boxes that are active now since this has been out of commission,” Brooks said.
Perhaps worse than the inconvenience of delayed deliveries, Brooks adds it’s dangerous.
“You’ve got the jagged edges of this sticking up along with this along the sidewalk here… seems like an easy thing to do but no one wants to take responsibility,” Brooks said.
So who is responsible?
“My wife first talked to the USPS. They said that it was the HOA’s responsibility. So she called Austin Properties that manages our HOA and was told that it was the post office,” he said.
On behalf of the HOA, Austin Properties sent us this statement:
“As discussed, this is a complicated issue and one that cannot be resolved simply by USPS stating they no longer maintain the cluster boxes and to contact your HOA. The HOA does not own the cluster boxes, the property where the boxes are located, have consent to the ROW where the boxes are located, nor the authority or responsibility in the governing documents to maintain the cluster boxes. I have included information regarding cluster box issues in the Barrington Place community that may help you to understand this issue more.”
USPS representatives pushed back with this statement:
“The Postal Service is proud to continue its vital role in today’s changing mail environment. We are directed by statute to provide reliable and efficient service. We appreciate the opportunity to confirm that current Postal Service guidelines specify that postal customers are responsible for ensuring appropriate mail receptacles are provided for the receipt of mail, to include door, curbside and centralized delivery via a CBU. Further, current Postal Service guidelines specify that the purchase, installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of mail receptacles are the customer’s responsibility, or apartment property management companies and homeowners associations (HOA), where applicable, except in limited circumstances. The Postal Service has, for over a decade, continuously adjusted and adapted the use of centralized delivery and associated issues, including responsibility for maintenance of boxes.”
“It’s extremely frustrating and it’s scary and I’m afraid somebody is going to get hurt,” Brooks said.
Faulty mailbox clusters have become such a widespread issue across the state. Joaquin Castro, along with four other members of Congress, have asked the postal service to return to its former policy of covering the costs of mailbox maintenance.
Meanwhile, Austin Properties says they plan to fight this legally and are bringing this to the attention of the Attorney General and Congressman Troy Nehls.