WHATELY — After hearing residents’ concerns about the need for more outreach regarding a possible ZIP code consolidation, the Selectboard is planning a public information session on the matter sometime in mid-June.

Whately currently uses three ZIP codes and the focus is on two of those: 01093, which is used by the Post Office on Chestnut Plain Road, and 01373, which is used by the South Deerfield Post Office. Residents who live near South Deerfield, such as those on River Road, use their neighboring town’s ZIP code, which the Selectboard and longtime Town Clerk, Town Administrator and Treasurer/Collector Lynn Sibley said has caused headaches for residents over the last four decades. Instead, the Selectboard is proposing the town use only the 01093 ZIP code in an effort to reduce these difficulties.

If pursued, the flow of mail will not change, as the U.S. Postal Service would still deliver Whately mail from the South Deerfield office, but residents would be able to put “Whately” in their address line instead of Deerfield. The tradeoff, however, would be that any residents currently using South Deerfield mailing addresses would need to change their addresses on file with businesses, delivery services and other entities.

“We have a chance to change what they should have done however many years ago,” said Selectboard Chair Joyce Palmer-Fortune. “It’s going to be a little bit of a heavy lift to get it going.”

The change was suggested by Sibley, who said at a previous meeting that dozens of excise tax bills meant for Deerfield residents defaulted to Whately due to the shared ZIP code, causing headaches for both towns. In a twist, even the Whately Town Offices, at 4 Sandy Lane, fall under a South Deerfield mailing address.

A handful of residents attended Tuesday evening’s Selectboard meeting to voice their concerns about the potential change, including that they felt there wasn’t enough outreach to residents about the process.

“Why now? You’ve had 40 years,” said resident Ruth Leahey, who is also a member of the Whately Grange and uses the 01373 ZIP code. “It is up to the renter and owner of the property to make sure accurate information is given to these services.”

Leahey said she hadn’t heard about the change until she read about it in the newspaper and said many other people she talked to hadn’t heard about it either. Palmer-Fortune said details about the process were shared with residents via The Whately Scoop, a newsletter that is mailed to every household in town, and on the town website, in addition to being featured on the front page of the Greenfield Recorder on May 4.

“I don’t want you thinking we didn’t try to get a hold of everybody,” she said.

Answering Leahey’s question about the timing of the change, Palmer-Fortune said the Postal Service’s computer systems are now able to handle this sort of internal rerouting without any difficulty.

“The Post Office finally has the capability to do it in an appropriate way,” added Town Clerk Amy Lavallee. “I don’t want to say ‘seamless’ because there’s work that will have to be done” by residents.

Palmer-Fortune added that another key benefit of the change would be freeing up town staff to work on other projects, rather than being “tied up with busywork” sorting out mail-related issues. That extra time, she said, could be used to apply for grants or work directly with residents on other issues.

Leahey suggested there should be an information session for people to familiarize themselves with the reasoning for the change and what residents would need to do if it’s pursued, which Selectboard member Julianna Waggoner said is a good plan.

“I like the idea of an informational meeting,” Waggoner said. “We are at your service and we want to hear what everybody has to say.”

The date for an information session, however, is still up in the air as Lavallee said she is busy preparing for the June 13 town election. A mid-June date is expected.

While there may be some difficulties in changing ZIP codes, Palmer-Fortune said the long-term effects will benefit everybody. Additionally, the South County Senior Center will offer help to any residents who have trouble changing their addresses with organizations and agencies.

“To me, that’s the hardest part; it puts a burden on a lot of individuals,” Palmer-Fortune said, adding that mail-related confusion will end, before joking that, “I’m sure the junk mail will find you.”

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com or 413-930-4081.

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