Nambe Pueblo postal outlet to close

Residents will have to travel to Tesuque once satellite service at gas station ends

Some residents in the Tesuque area will have to travel seven miles farther for basic postal services when a satellite outlet shuts down Jan. 11.

Nambe Pueblo leaders decided to cancel their postal contract at a gas station the tribal corporation owns off U.S. 84/285, removing an outlet that residents could use to drop off mail and parcels.

The customers will have to drive to the Tesuque post office for the same basic services until a new area outlet is created.

“We’re in the process of looking for local businesses within the community who are interested in establishing a new CPU [contract postal unit],” said Rod Spurgeon, Postal Service regional spokesman.

Regular mail delivery to homes and businesses won’t be effected, Spurgeon said.

Spurgeon said he didn’t know why Nambe Pueblo decided to end the contract. Pueblo leaders couldn’t be reached Thursday for comment.

“We do have some nearby locals that are kind of disappointed,” said Isaiah Vigil, shift supervisor at Nambé Falls Travel Center, the gas station that runs the outlet. “The local businesses that

use us — they lose out. But they still have Tesuque.”

Vigil also couldn’t say why the outlet was being closed. But he said the number of postal customers was sporadic.

“It’s not like we’re busy 24/7,” Vigil said, estimating that 20 or fewer people per day use the service.

The outlet has no post office boxes, he said, explaining it’s set up for people to drop off mail and parcels as well as have their mail certified, registered or insured. They also can buy priority mailing and stamps and have mailed items tracked.

The outlet is not equipped to handle overseas mail, change of addresses or passport applications, Vigil said. For those services, customers must go to Tesuque, he said.

Mail delivery is available to most area residents, Vigil said. Some people feel more secure depositing mail at a postal outlet, where they also can certify or register it, rather than sticking it in a home mailbox, he said.

Spurgeon indicated it’s not known how long it will take to replace the outlet that’s closing.

But every effort will be made to find one as soon as possible, he said.

Spurgeon said he didn’t know why Nambe Pueblo decided to end the contract.