SIGURD, Utah — Many people get their mail in a mailbox at their home each day, but in some communities, it's not so convenient. They have to go to a local post office to send and receive mail.
In the small central Utah town of Sigurd, that luxury is no longer an option. Residents there have had to drive to neighboring Richfield to get their mail from the U.S. Postal Service. It's a system that's been in place for more than two years, and residents say it's time for a change.
"We’re desperate for some mail delivery," said Cindy Roberts, a longtime resident of Sigurd with her husband Mike. "We’re a town without mail service. It’s been a hardship."
This inconvenience came after a longtime postmaster retired and Sigurd's post office was shut down.
"It’s kind of time-consuming and a pain in the rear end to drive to Richfield to get your mail," Mike Roberts said. "And now with gas prices, we don’t always get our mail every day."
Mike and Cindy are farmers and can't always make the trip, meaning they sometimes miss certain timely notices that come via USPS.
And they say for older folks in their town, some relying on the mail for medications, it's even harder.
The Roberts said the Richfield post office has very little parking — plus there's more traffic and not the personal service they once had.
"This post office is our identity," Cindy Roberts said. "Everybody needs a post office. It's a critical issue."
FOX 13 News reached out to the U.S. Postal Service for comment.
"The Contract Post Unit in Sigurd, Utah, closed in March 2020 due to the contract holder retiring," a statement from spokesman Rod Spurgeon read in part. "When we solicited the community to operate a contract post unit in 2020, we didn't receive a response."
Sigurd resident Vicky Bastian showed FOX 13 News the signatures on a petition, letters, requests for help from local representatives and more over the past two years as they've tried to change the current situation.
"When they announced they were going to close this down, the residents were in an uproar. I went around the town and got signatures from almost every member of the town," Bastian said.
Their petition opposed the shift to Richfield's post office, instead proposing mail delivery service like in nearby Venice, Utah.
"We sent it to the postal service, and to Sen. Mitt Romney’s office, Sen. Mike Lee’s office, and our local post office and the postal office in Utah that’s now been discontinued," Bastian said. "We’ve done everything we can to try and help and work through this, but this is something that has really affected our community."
Sigurd councilman and fire chief Joe Kirkwood also talked to FOX 13 News about the situation.
"It’s just all around not as good of a situation as it used to be," he said.
Kirkwood said they're looking into places where the post office could be in town, since the last location is no longer an option after losing their lease.
"It’s about probably a 25-minute round trip [to Richfield], and it’s just a big inconvenience since people in town were used to having a service right in town," he said. "We're looking into all kinds of options right now, even a new building. But bottom line is the town of Sigurd doesn't have the budget for that."
Local residents continue to make the to and from Richfield to send and receive mail as they try to push for change.
"I don’t know," Mike Roberts said. "It seems like they've got us on ignore".
The U.S. Postal Service's statement in response to the situation in Sigurd also read:
"Businesses interested in becoming a USPS CPU supplier should send their contact information to alternateaccess@usps.gov and a local representative will respond."
