In a news release, USPS officials said the decision comes after “a thorough business review and solicitation of public feedback on the facility’s future” that it concluded “supports transferring mail processing outgoing operations to the Green Bay” processing and distribution center.

It noted the majority of mail and packages that come to the Kingsford center are destined for outside the Iron Mountain area.

The change is part of USPS’s $40 billion Delivering for America plan, which officials claim “will upgrade and improve the postal processing, transportation, and delivery networks.” The plan relies heavily on creating regional processing and distribution centers and converting a number of other existing PDCs into local processing centers.

The same switch is being made at locations across the country.

(AP photo, file) LOUIS DeJOY

USPS officials have pledged to invest up to $6.3 million in the Kingsford center as part of the conversion, including $2.4 million for modernization efforts and deferred maintenance and $3.9 million for a robotic “Flex Rover Sorter Quad” system in the facility.

According to the news release, the conversion should “result in expanded and streamlined package and mail processing and distribution capabilities for the facility.”

In earlier statements, USPS claimed the switch will save an estimated $1.1 million to $1.5 million annually at the Kingsford facility.

USPS stressed Tuesday that changing to a local processing center will “improve mail and package flow through the region” and no career employees will be laid off. But it did mention reassignments and reductions in pre-career employees “will be made in accordance with respective collective bargaining agreements.”

The postal service announced early in the year it was doing a facility review at the Kingsford plant. That review included a public meeting April 1 at Pine Mountain Ski and Golf Resort, where a panel of USPS officials were criticized for targeting the only mail processing and distribution center in the Upper Peninsula.

Changes already made have eliminated next-day service through USPS, affecting delivery of prescription medicines and water testing that require a one-day turnaround.

The USPS Delivering for America plans generated enough controversy nationwide to prompt a Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs hearing April 16 to address “mounting concerns about the postal service and timely mail delivery.”

Senators on the panel grilled U.S. Postmaster Louis DeJoy about the loss of services under the plan, noting cities such as Richmond, Va., and Atlanta, Ga., had slower delivery times after centers were consolidated. The chair, Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, called on USPS to delay going forward until it has data available that shows the changes are having the intended effect given the results so far.

Peters echoed that call Tuesday after learning of the USPS decision. In a written statement, he said “U.P. residents depend on the postal service to deliver vital medications, financial documents and lab tests that are critical to their wellbeing. Given the serious service disruptions and increased costs that similar postal service changes led to in other states, I am extremely concerned about the potential impact this could have for communities across the Upper Peninsula. I will always fight to protect reliable mail delivery in Michigan and across the country — and I call on USPS leadership to reverse this decision until they can show the public that it will not harm the mail service they are counting on.”

U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Watersmeet, the congressman for the First District that includes all of the Upper Peninsula, said in a statement, “Based on the horrendous handling to date of the Iron Mountain USPS processing facility, it unfortunately comes as no surprise that USPS blatantly ignored the voices of each of us that raised rational concerns with the postal service cutting off next-day service to nearly all of the U.P. Make no mistake, this awful determination is going to hurt Yoopers. While the decision today was a disappointment, my colleagues and I are going to hold the postmaster and his bureaucrats accountable.”

State lawmakers from the region reacted as well —

“It was clear they were learning new info about U.P. postal needs such as the huge, local VA hospital, water sampling, and many other deliveries. They even admitted they distort mail delivery time by only counting the time after processing, so something bigger was driving this. Since the meeting I have learned the main motivation for all of this is to reduce the USPS carbon footprint and save the planet from climate change — changing their plan was as likely as changing the mind of a cult member,” said state Sen. Ed McBroom, R-Waucedah Township.

“I am deeply concerned about the negative impact of the USPS consolidation plans, particularly the proposed closure of the outgoing processing facility in Kingsford,” said state Rep. Jenn Hill, D-Marquette. “The closure will be very detrimental to the residents of the U.P., exacerbating existing challenges in mail delivery and significantly diminishing the reliability of vital postal services.”

“Whatever their justification for this closure, rural postal service has been sacrificed,” said state Rep. Greg Markkanen, R-Hancock. “The USPS was never interested in reasoning — our hope all along was in political pressure and we counted on Senator Peters, who controls their funding, but he failed us.”

“I wish I could say I am surprised at the determination today, but I’m not,” said state Rep. Dave Prestin, R-Cedar River. “It was blatantly obvious the bureaucrats who came for the public hearing were not there to listen and that the USPS had predetermined the outcome.”

Betsy Bloom can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 240, or bbloom@ironmountaindailynews.com.