The U.S. Postal Service will have a public meeting at 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, at the Kingsford Armory as it considers a plan to convert its processing and distribution facility in Kingsford into a local processing center.

The evaluation is a first step in a Postal Service review and will not result in the facility’s closure or career employee layoffs, USPS officials said Monday in a news release.

Business mail entry, Post Office, station, and branch retail services at Kingsford are not expected to change, and delivery services will be unaffected during the review, officials said.

Under the plan, some mail processing operations would be moved to the Green Bay, Wis., processing and delivery center. At the same time, the Kingsford facility would be modernized as a local processing center, offering expanded and streamlined package processing capabilities in the local market.

Transferring some mail processing operations to Green Bay “would mean a significant percentage of the mail collected locally will travel across the wider USPS transportation and processing network over significant distances to reach their final destinations in a more efficient manner,” officials said. “Mail and packages destined for outside the local area may receive better service and be more cost-effectively distributed by aggregating it with mail and packages from other areas going to the same places that will likewise utilize the wider postal network and be transported significant distances from where the mail originated.”

The evaluation is part of a $40 billion investment strategy to upgrade and improve USPS processing, transportation, and delivery networks.

“The USPS ten-year Delivering for America plan includes initiatives to improve organizational and operational processes and actively make the Postal Service an efficient, high-performing, world class logistics and delivery provider,” the news release stated. “Improvements to postal operations will enhance the level of service provided to the public; drive innovation and enable a broader array of postal products and services; enhance organizational competitiveness; improve efficiency and lower the cost to operate; and provide better workplaces and careers for Postal Service employees.”

At the Feb. 8 meeting, USPS will share the initial results of its study and allow members of the community to provide oral feedback and perspectives on the Initial Findings of the Mail Processing Facility Review.

A summary of the MPFR will be posted on about.usps.com at least one week before the public meeting.

Members of the community may also submit written comments at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/mpfr-iron-mountain-mi through Feb. 23. The public’s input will be considered prior to a final decision.

“The Postal Service will work closely with its unions and management associations throughout the facility review and will continually monitor the impact of any changes that are implemented and will adjust plans as necessary and appropriate,” the news release stated.