Glyndon General Mail Delivery To Stay Put

General delivery mail service will continue at the , a postal employee told Glyndon residents at a meeting Monday night.

“There’s going to be no foreseeable changes at this time,” said John Cordell, a manager of post office operations in central Maryland for the U.S. Postal Service.

More than 100 Glyndon residents packed Monday night. Councilwoman Vicki Almond and Tony Baysmore, special assistant to the county executive, also attended. The meeting was prompted by a letter residents received saying that .

“That letter was premature and shouldn’t have came out, and for that I do apologize,” Cordell said.

The letter was prompted by several residents cancelling their paid PO boxes and trying to switch to free general delivery, something the postal service doesn’t allow, Cordell said.

Most Glyndon residents get their mail in a PO Box or through general delivery in which they get their mail from behind the counter at the post office. Residents in the more rural Worthington Valley get street delivery and a small cluster of streets get mail delivered. In the valley, those houses keep Glyndon’s 21071 ZIP code, while in the other cluster of streets, Reisterstown’s 21136 ZIP code is used.

The post office has approximately 250 PO boxes and 70 general delivery customers, according to Chuck Welsh, a former Glyndon postmaster.

While residents were relieved that general delivery would stay, Cordell’s other answers were met with hostility. Although he said nothing is set in stone, postal regulations require that when a PO box is made available, general delivery customers, in order, have the option to rent a box. If they choose not to, they are moved to street delivery, which would require Glyndon residents to use the 21136 ZIP code, something to which they are adamantly opposed.

“People have made up 21071 hats,” said John Morris, president of the Glyndon Community Association. “It’s a point of pride for the neighborhood.”

Residents claim that home owners and auto insurance rates could increase with a change in ZIP code, and a retired real estate appraiser said property values will decrease.

“When you change over to 21136, expect a drop in property value,” said Bud Piccirilli. Because of amenities and the history of Glyndon, properties are often appraised at higher numbers than in neighboring Reisterstown, he said.

Glyndon takes pride in its ZIP code and its post office. In 1999, when the building was up for sale, a group of residents formed Glyndon Train Station LLC and bought the building.

But things aren’t perfect in 21071. Residents shared stories of missing mail because mail was sent to their home address rather than a PO box, or the address wasn’t filled out correctly. Several residents missed water bills, tax bills and important school and college mail because of postal mix-ups.

Several business owners spoke, including Lou Santoni of and Christina Ebmeier of . Ebmeier said she recently missed applications for renewal of the store’s liquor license and liquor tasting license. Santoni echoed sentiments of other residents, many of whom gave impassioned speeches.

“I think that this town is so up in arms and we’re so upset because we’re not getting a clear answer,” he said. “We feel like there’s been a vindictiveness about how this has been done.”