As a way to save $3 billion per year, the United States Postal Service (USPS) announced earlier this month that it will be eliminating more than half of its processing facilities. The postal facility on Main Street may be one to go.

Staff at the USPS facility on Main Street, near WalMart, which has shrunk to only a small group of employees, reported this week that it is not closing at this time. However, there is a proposed study to review whether to consolidate or close the nearly 250 processing facilities by as much as 50 percent.

The USPS said this could "dramatically" decrease "the nationwide transportation network, adjusting the workforce size by as many as 35,000 positions, and revising service standards for First-Class Mail."

The problem is that people are simply not mailing as many items as they used to, making it more difficult for USPS to maintain their national infrastructure. They have closed 186 facilities and removed more than 1,500 pieces of mail processing equipment in the last five years, said USPS.

“Mail volume has declined by more than 43 billion pieces in the past 5 years and is continuing to decline. First-Class Mail has dropped 25 percent and single piece First-Class Mail — letters bearing postage stamps — has declined 36 percent in the same timeframe, and nearly 50 percent in the past 10 years,” said the USPS.

First-Class mail processing takes between one and three days. When the new changes are implemented, the new standard would be two to three days.

During Monday's selectmen's meeting, Selectman Mike Prisco announced that he heard that the USPS facility on Main Street may be one of the facilities to close. If the Main Street facility closes, Selectman Stephen O’Leary suggested that it could be the spot for a future Town Hall.

“Maybe it’s a facility we should be looking at for town purposes,” O’Leary said. “It’s worth getting in touch with our congressman about.”