About 40-to-50 people showed up for a public meeting over the proposal and study to move the processing of mail from the Hutchinson Post Office to the Wichita facility.

U-S Postal Officials say consolidating the mail processing center here to Wichita would save hundreds of thousands of dollars, but cost about nine jobs, according to a Postal Service study, eight of those would be line workers, and one would be management. Wichita, in turn would pick up about 10-positions.

Roy Reynold’s Senior Plant Manager with the Omaha facility gave the presentation at the meeting in Hutchinson. He says moving the Hutchinson Procession Center to Wichita would save the U.S. Postal Service more than $687,792 a year.

So why the need to consolidate? The U-S Postal Service is loosing money. Reynold’s explains that in 2006, they processed over 200-billion pieces of mail nationwide which is the most they had ever processed, but then between 2006 and 2010, they lost as much as 20-billion pieces of first class mail, which he called the bread and butter of the postal service. In addition, they also lost 20-billion pieces of standard mail, which he says is the advertising type mail. The two combined is a 20% loss in pieces of mail and in turn revenue.

The idea is to get the facilities in larger cities to operate at least 20-hours per day. He says even as it stands now, most facilities over process mail from 11-or-12 at night, and then go to maybe 6-or-7 a-m in the morning. Consolidating facilities and equipment could mean processing in facilities such as Wichita, Kansas City, and Omaha could be running as much as 20-hours.

Debbie Irwin, the Circulation Manager of the Hutchinson News was concerned because the changes will effect the times their subscribers could get their paper in western Kansas, or areas outside the 675-zip codes. She estimated it could cost the 100-hundred thousand dollars in subscriptions if residents in the western part of the state get their paper two days later then what it has been.

Other sites being considered for consolidation include Liberal, Salina and Topeka. In all, the moves in Kansas would save the agency an estimated 9-million annually.

Reynold’s says other services in the Hutchinson Post Office won’t change, except the possibility of pick up times for mail at the boxes and other locations, but that’s still undecided at this point. It should be noted that nothing has been finalized, but the studies suggest moving.

Those who missed Thursday nights meeting can send comments to the Central Plains District of the U-S Postal Service at PO Box 199504, Omaha, Nebraska 68119.