SAN ANTONIO – Residents in a northeast Bexar County subdivision said they’ve been waiting more than a year to have their mail delivery resumed.
They said their cluster mailbox on Flatstone Pass, which is not far from FM 1516 and Crestway Road, was damaged by a car that went out of control.
As a result, the homeowners said they have had to travel approximately a mile-and-a-half each day to pick up their mail from the nearest post office.
“You have to go there and spend all this time and we’re not getting anywhere,” Jo Ann Howe said. “It’s just ridiculous.”
Howe uses a cane to get around after suffering injuries in an unrelated fall.
Like her, Howe said quite a few neighbors have mobility issues that make the frequent trips to the post office a trek.
“You have a lot of retired people and some of them don’t have cars,” Howe said. “So, it’s hard to get there.”
Michael Martinez, who lives across the street from Howe, agreed about the hardship the situation has created.
“I’m a disabled vet. I can’t be standing in line too long,” Martinez said. “I have problems with my legs and back. Sometimes, I’m not in good condition where I can drive down there.”
The neighbors turned to KSAT 12 News for help after exhausting attempts to get help with the problem from the homeowners’ association (HOA) for the Fields of Dover subdivision.
So far, they said it seems like it’s all fallen on deaf ears.
“Nobody ever answers me. Nobody contacts,” Howe said.
In an emailed response, a spokesperson for the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) told KSAT 12 News that “maintenance, repair, and replacement of mail receptacles are the customer’s responsibility, or apartment property management companies and homeowners associations (HOA), where applicable.”
This is the same policy that applies to all mailboxes, whether the damage came from a car crash or a break-in. Break-ins are more often the cause of damaged mailboxes.
In this particular case, though, the USPS said it would be working with everyone involved to find a resolution.
An attempt to contact the subdivision’s HOA president at his home Friday morning about the delayed repairs was unsuccessful.
He did not answer his door nor called the number on a business card left at his door.
Howe said she’d like to know why the HOA has not moved forward on replacing the mailboxes and what exactly has become of the dues she and her neighbors paid in January.
“Now’s the time because you’ve got all the money. Why can’t you do it?” Howe said, directing her questions to the HOA.
Even more than getting those answers, they said they are hoping to see action soon.
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