The Petition

Backstory
Following a meeting with the Groveland Board of Selectmen on December 21, the petition below began to circulate. This is an informal petition addressed to the Groveland Board of Selectmen. The responsibility for snow removal on town-maintained roads in Groveland belongs to the Groveland Road Commissioner.

(Please note that on this website two points were previously and incorrectly reported: first, that the Selectmen said they had no prior knowledge of the mailbox problem, and secondly, that the Road Commissioner was an appointed position. We have apologised for these errors in reporting.)

Resident Petition to Groveland, Massachusetts Selectmen December 24, 2009

We the undersigned residents of Groveland Massachusetts hereby petition The Groveland Board of Selectmen and Highway Department to Stop the Destruction of Residential US Mail Boxes on the roadways of our community.

During the past three consecutive winters, our US Mail Boxes have been bent, broken, and destroyed, due to the reckless and irresponsible behavior by the operators of Groveland Snow Plow Drivers. The excessive speed and/or force of snow propulsion from the snow plows has lead to the extensive destruction of mailboxes in Groveland. We the undersigned want Groveland Snow Plow drivers to operate with more caution and reduced speed (2Omph), with appropriately modified snow plow attachments to Prevent damage to our US Mailboxes, so the US Postal Service will deliver our mail. Loss of mail causes undue hardships to our residents, especially the elderly residents.

If the problem persists, remedial training should be initiated for the drivers of snow plows and deduction of pay for the damage and/or destruction caused to our mailboxes. Ultimately, if they continue their reckless disregard for our mailboxes during snow removal, We the undersigned request suspension or termination of the drivers from job positions as snow plow drivers.

Thank you for your consideration and action in this matter.

If you want to add your name to the petition
If you want to add your name to the petition, please call Michael at (978) 372-3763 or email Citizen in Action, stating your name, street address and (optionally) phone number and email address. Your personal information will not be posted on this website. Your name will be added to the list presented to the Selectmen, and - if necessary - you will be contacted at a later date to actually sign a piece of paper. We hope this won't be necesssary.

Groveland Board of Selectmen's Meeting January 19, 2010
The Road Commissioner was present at the meeting with the Selectmen at 6:15PM on Tuesday January 19. The meeting was taped for viewing on the channel 9, the local government channel.

The Selectmen agreed that the damage being done to the mailboxes is a serious problem and needs to be addressed. The Road Commissioner pointed out that the source of the problem is the height of the mailboxes. He distributed a copy of the USPS regulations on mailbox height, a copy of which can be downloaded from http://www.usps.com/receive/mailboxstandards.htm.

Residents need to be reminded of this standard. However, from a practical point of view, mailbox heights cannot be adjusted when the ground is frozen, so the Road Commissioner has agreed to meet with his crews and make certain that extra care is taken during operations for the remainder of the season. The Road Commissioner also stated that the maximum speed of the snowplows should be no more than 20 miles per hour.

The Selectmen agreed to place this issue on their agenda again on Monday February 1, to follow-up and make sure that the situation has improved.

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