Notices at community mailboxes

We deliver a newsletter with the information door to door,you could also mail them

John, You might want to take a look at the boxes used by real estate sales people, such as the following:

Solar Powered Brochure Box
Solar powered LED illuminates flyers and acrylic front panel message
Holds up to 150 brochures and 50 business cards
Made of Ultra Strong white polished ABS with UV Guard (Resists yellowing and becoming brittle
Includes two premium grade rechargeable AAA Ni-Mh batteries

$29.95 ea.
http://www.realtysignxpress.com/index.html?page=acc

Or,

Brochure Box
* Durable polystyrene box keeps your listing sheets flat, dry and visible.
* The brochure box has the words "Please Take One" imprinted in red.
* Brochure Boxes come in quantities of 6.
http://www.oakleysign.com/store/product.php?productid=19014&cat=1778&page=1

Mary: Your board can get a bulk mail permit from the postal office to do the mailing. You will save a lot of money.

MaryA.
Probably been considered but we have a 2000 (approx) unit HOA here also our condo. Both make good use of e-mail notifications. It does require some effort to maintain a e-mail list for 2000 units, not so much for our condo 65 units.

But, it is probably going to happen that all this mass snail mailing will shortly be a thing of the past due to economics. The viable alternative is e-mail mailings or "Blasts." Our Board still insists on some snail mail. Why, I do not know. Nearly all business is conducted by electronic means and in the case of e-mail the very few folks that don't have e-mail will dwindle away and it will become an accepted way of doing business, especially things like community notifications. This little trick has only been touched on the surface and in fact, associations can do a lot of innovative e-mail stuff such as embedding pictures, cartoons, music, etc, into e-mail to attract attention and the "green effort" would be worthy.

Regard boxes to keep paper notices in. A home made box with a lid serves the purpose, mounted on the side of a building, tree or what have you. I have made a few for mail drops and they are used all over our Island for special notices, such as Audobon Club, Garden Club, Community Center, many mounted on the post that holds the US Mail Box. I know it is probably illegal but I suspect that the Post Master General is too busy inspecting all the Offical Mail Boxes that have "Inspected by The Post Master General" imprinted on them.
Would you believe that is a legal requirement to have your mail delivered?

In our community, we get permission from the Post Office to put
flyers in the mailboxes. We call the Postmaster and let him and
our carrier know when we need to send out the flyer. They, then,
are O.K. with it.
Edie

As a followup to the above, check this link:

http://www.rand.org/news/press/2008/10/23/

It says, in part:

"The Mailbox Rule is a criminal statute passed by Congress in 1934 to protect Postal Service revenue after utilities and other companies began to distribute bills directly to consumers. While the statute does not make it illegal for non-Postal Service employees to deliver mail, it does make it a crime to deliver mail to a mailbox unless the item has postage."

I recall reading several years back about a local Boy Scout organization getting into trouble with the postal service for delivering flyers to mail boxes. No criminal charges were filed, but the Boy Scouts had to pay the required postage to avoid the criminal charges.

I agree, but John didn't mention board meetings; only "meetings." From the OP there's no way to tell whether notice is required or not and how such notice, if required, must be delivered. He would have to check his documents or state laws to determine that.

Robert,

I understand your point, and I personally might agree with it, but, I tend to be black-and-white. You either abide by the rules or you don't. You don't pick and choose which ones to follow and which ones you don't. If everybody did that they would likely pick different ones and we would have a chaotic society. That's why there are rules.

I don't think there is any issue. The OP asked for information on what to use for posting notices. However, if JohnF is thinking of posting notices in a central location instead of using some other method of providing notice that is required, I think he should check first to make sure that it doesn't come back to bite him later.

Not everyone lives in the 21st century, so what MOST people have or do is not the same as what EVERYBODY has or does.

As for passing a resolution that contradicts the bylaws, you can't do it. Such resolutions are null and void, period. That's not to say that you can't amend the bylaws, so long as you don't pass an amendment that contradicts a higher authority, such as a state law.

I'm not saying that you CAN'T use email, or a posting, or a newsletter, or whatever, unless it's prohibited, but if there is a prescribed method for providing notice then that's what I'd advise someone to do. Any other method of providing notice would be in addition to that. If any owner claimed that he/she failed to receive notice and you didn't follow the prescribed method, you wouldn't have a leg to stand on. Maybe you can use email to provide notice to those who have email and US mail only for those that don't, or maybe you can't. I wouldn't risk assuming that a court would consider it OK if challenged on it. As to whether a court would consider delivery by UPS to be equivalent to delivery by US mail, that remains to be seen. Some courts might consider it to be equivalent, others might not. I've learned never to anticipate what a court may rule. Murphy's law always seems to come into play.

As far as email delivery goes, there's no guarantee of delivery, even if a person has email. Some people have their email spam filters set very tight so that mail only gets through if it is from specified email addresses and internet domains. You would have to make certain everyone has the filters set to allow notices to get through. Have you ever seen the notices provided by some online services that remind you to make sure your filters allow their notices to you to get through? The president of our HOA once sent a notice out from work. I never received it because my filter was set to allow email from his home email address, not from his work email address.

If there's a prescribed method for providing notice and you follow it and something goes wrong, you're off the hook. Otherwise, you're not. I think it's a caution worth noting.

Mary,

Yes, I believe it. And there are other specific rules regarding mailboxes that most people may not even be aware of. The rules are spelled out in the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM 508). For example, other receptacles, such as a box for receiving your newspaper, has to meet certain requirements if it is to be attached to the same post.

A postmaster or postal carrier cannot give "permission" to attach anything to the mailbox because the permission is not theirs to give. You would think a postmaster would know better.

Here are the rules:

3.1 Basic Information for Customer Mail Receptacles
3.1.4 Clear Approach

Customers must keep the approach to their mailboxes clear of obstructions to allow safe access for delivery. If USPS employees are impeded in reaching a mail receptacle, the postmaster may withdraw delivery service.

3.2 Curbside Mailboxes
3.2.1 Manufacturer Specifications

Manufacturers of all mailboxes designed and made to be erected at the edge of a roadway or curbside of a street and to be served by a carrier from a vehicle on any city route, rural route, or highway contract route must obtain approval of their products under USPS Standard 7, Mailboxes, City and Rural Curbside. To receive these construction standards and drawings or other information about the manufacture of curbside mailboxes, write to USPS Engineering.

3.2.3 Locked Box

A mailbox with a lock must have a slot that is large enough to accommodate the customer’s normal daily mail volume. The USPS neither opens a locked box nor accepts a key for this purpose.

3.2.4 Mailbox Post

The post or other support for a curbside mailbox must be neat and of adequate strength and size. The post may not represent effigies or caricatures that tend to disparage or ridicule any person. The box may be attached to a fixed or movable arm.

3.2.6 Location

Subject to state laws and regulations, a curbside mailbox must be placed to allow safe and convenient delivery by carriers without leaving their vehicles. The box must be on the right-hand side of the road in the direction of travel of the carriers on any new rural route or highway contract route, in all cases where traffic conditions are dangerous for the carriers to drive to the left to reach the box, or where their doing so would violate traffic laws and regulations.

3.2.7 Address Identification

Every curbside mailbox must bear the following address information:

A box number, if used, inscribed in contrasting color in neat letters and numerals at least 1 inch high on the side of the box visible to the carrier’s regular approach, or on the door if boxes are grouped.

A house number if street names and house numbers have been assigned by local authorities, and the postmaster authorizes their use as a postal address. If the box is on a different street from the customer’s residence, the street name and house number must be inscribed on the box.
3.2.8 Owner’s Name

The mailbox may bear the owner’s name.

3.2.9 More Than One Family Sharing a Receptacle

If more than one family wishes to share a mail receptacle, the following standards apply:

Route and Box Number Addressing. On rural and highway contract routes authorized to use a route and box numbering system (e.g., RR 1 BOX 155), up to five families may share a single mail receptacle and use a common route and box designation. A written notice of agreement, signed by the heads of the families or individuals who want to join in the use of such box, must be filed with the postmaster at the delivery office.

3.2.11 Newspaper Receptacle

A receptacle for newspaper delivery by private carriers may be attached to the post of a curbside mailbox used by the USPS if the receptacle: a. Does not touch the mailbox or use any part of the mailbox for support. b. Does not interfere with the delivery of mail, obstruct the view of the mailbox flag, or present a hazard to carrier or vehicle. c. Does not extend beyond the front of the mailbox when the box door is closed. d. Does not display advertising, except the publication title.

3.3 Wall-Mounted Centralized Mail Receptacles
3.3.1 Manufacturer Requirements

Manufacturers of wall-mounted centralized mail receptacles used for mail delivery must receive approval under the specifications and procedures in USPS Standard 4. The specifications and other information can be obtained by writing to USPS Engineering.

3.3.2 Customer Requirements

The installation of proper equipment is required for delivery service. The type of equipment must be approved by the USPS under 3.3.1 and must be appropriate for the structure. Customers should discuss the types of approved equipment permitted for their structures with their postmaster before purchasing and installing delivery equipment.

Our benefits in living in a small, friendly rural area,
where people rule not gov't rules. I guess we are blessed.
Edie

As I said, hope the postal inspectors never find out. They won't care where you live. From my knowledge of the postal system and from reading books written by postal indpectors, they're not a bunch of friendly fellows. (Did you know that in many larger post offices there's an upper gallery with one-way windows that surrounds the work floor below so that postal inspectors can watch the employees?) If discovered, your postmaster could be in trouble. Of course, if he denies he ever gave permission . . . . . .

And, if you don't know what the Postal Inspection Service is, it's a federal law enforcement agency similar to the FBI. These guys carry badges and they are armed (because they do deal with violent crimes).

You can learn more about them at:

http://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/

and, if you want to know about their revenue protection efforts, go to:

http://postalinspectors.uspis.gov/investigations/MailFraud/fraudschemes/revenuefraud/RevenueFraud.aspx

Pay particular attention to the fifth bullet down on that page.