New Montreat resident presses town over home mail delivery; manager says options are limited

Jamie Bookwalter, a new Montreat resident, told the Town of Montreat Board of Commissioners on Nov. 14 that she and her family are having difficulty receiving mail and would prefer curbside delivery rather than paying $170 a year for a post office box. "I would rather have an actual mailbox because I do not want to pay $170 a year for a post office box that I do not want to use," Bookwalter said during the public forum.

Town Manager Savannah Parrish responded that postal authorities have told town staff Montreat can have either street delivery or a Post Office, but not both, and that if street delivery were chosen the Black Mountain Post Office would absorb Montreat delivery. Parrish said the Montreat Post Office has historically served as a community gathering place and that there is currently no appetite among residents or staff to change the system; she offered to meet with Bookwalter to review the history and next steps.

Bookwalter said she has already contacted her state representative, who "seems interested in pursuing the next steps." The meeting record shows residents raised related concerns later in the forum: Martha Campbell said a state-issued driver’s license addressed to Montreat was delivered by USPS to the Brevard DMV, and the board concluded that incident was a postal routing issue rather than an addressing error.

The manager’s office did not announce any immediate policy change at the meeting. Parrish offered a follow-up meeting with Bookwalter and indicated staff would continue to coordinate with postal authorities. Bookwalter said she planned to pursue a petition with her state representative.