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KALISPELL- A meeting room as the Red Lion Inn in Kalispell was packed Thursday night as the public gathered to discuss if the town's mail processing center should remain open.

The U.S. Postal Service says they would save nearly $600,000 annually by shutting down the mail operations in Kalispell. USPS representatives say the proposed consolidation is a result of the steady decrease in volume of first-class mail.

The closing of the Kalispell center would eliminate overnight mail for residents and businesses and also result in the loss of a dozen jobs. Residents were invited to weigh in on how that would impact the community and its businesses during Thursday evening's meeting.

"Some people do rely on overnight mail. There's pharmaceutical companies that have very short windows or shelf lives for some of the pharmaceuticals. There's a company in town that does water testing, and the water has to be tested within 30 hours. Our service would no longer be a 24 hour service. It would be up to a two-day service. So, we would have to figure out how that would work," USPS Dakota District Manager John DiPeri told the crowd.

A decision to close the Kalispell processing center would mean that mail would be shipped to Spokane for sorting and then brought back to Kalispell. A similar proposal is being considered for the Missoula USPS processing center as well.

The public comment given during the meeting will be taken into consideration and a decision will be made in the near future according to USPS officials.

Contact Laura Wilson