Keith E. LaShier
I want to introduce myself to our members as the newly elected President of the Association of United States Postal Lessors (AUSPL). I have served on the Board of the AUSPL and had retired from the U S Postal Service where I had been involved in their Facilities Department and had enjoyed service in Finance and Operational positions. I have met many of you over the years at our Regional and National Conferences and have talked to many members who call our office seeking assistance on a myriad of issues related to your ownership of a Post Office. I’d like to use this forum to bring you up to speed on recent and upcoming events and activities.
Congratulations to everyone who contributed to the education of members of Congress on the benefits of the USPS leased facility inventory, maintaining six-day delivery, and retaining a physical presence in communities across the breath of our country. The Postal Service Reform Act of 2022 was signed into law in April 2022. Our members contributed financially to the AUSPL Political Action Committee (PAC), attended Hill Day in person and virtual events, wrote letters and spoke to their elected officials. Several years of efforts have paid off and we thank you for your role in this endeavor. The USPS now has more tools and flexibility to move forward on their transformation plans.
We were able to hold several Regional Training Events during the fall of 2021 and are excited to schedule more for later this year. Keep tuned in to our web site to obtain up to date information on these sought-after venues.
The recent Orlando, FL national conference was a success, and we were so happy to connect face to face with our members after being apart the past couple of years. This magazine will feature many details on the conference.
I attended the National Postal Forum that was held in May 2022. I heard from Postmaster General and CEO Louis DeJoy as he shared his vision for the future of the USPS, which included the following: a Postal Service Retail Center in easy reach of every community; a modern Postal Service processing and transportation network; technology enabled carriers in new vehicles; and Postmasters as leaders of commerce in their communities.
I met and talked to Ben Kuo, the recently selected Facilities, Senior Vice President. During a presentation at the conference attendees were advised the USPS acknowledged their past 15 years of financial losses prevented them from adequately investing in their infrastructure. They are planning to spend $1.3 billion for each of the next five years in transformative investments which is a significant increase from prior years. These investments will improve their network of mail processing facilities. The Facilities Department will play a key role in helping transition the USPS to newer processing facilities using standardized designs. PMG DeJoy stated many of the 19,000 delivery units are in disrepair. In larger cities the USPS may consolidate delivery routes into Sort and Delivery Centers.
The Board of the AUSPL will continue to be engaged with senior officials from the USPS on their transformation plans and how it might impact their leased facility inventory. We met with GAO officials recently to discuss how our organization and property owners might assist the USPS in the installation of electric charging stations. I see this as a topic that will evolve slowly with no likely actions soon.
The Board will have meetings during the year with senior managers of the USPS Facilities Department to discuss a variety of topics that affect our members, such as the lease negotiation process, maintenance of Post Offices, and damage to Post Offices by 3rd parties. We work with the AUSPL Insurance Office to evaluate the impacts of natural disasters and other events that affect the pricing of the policies paid by our members.
We hope to see many of you later this year at our Regional Training Conferences. The site of the National Conference for 2023 had not been selected yet but our expectations are that it will be held in Las Vegas, NV.
Thanks again for your support and membership in the AUSPL.
