MISSOURI CITY, Texas — For about two months now, KHOU 11 has been getting dozens of emails about mail being stuck at a Missouri City USPS processing center.
These emails have come from local and state residents, and even a woman living in New Hampshire whose Christmas gifts got caught in the madness.
For a while, we've received the same response from USPS -- "all mail and packages are being processed," but on Wednesday, we got a more detailed explanation of what the USPS said is causing the delay in people's mail.
The postal service said it's undergoing a network modernization plan in an attempt to update its "outmoded" system. The plan includes establishing Regional Processing and Distribution Centers (RPDC) and Local Processing Centers (LPC).
In Houston’s case, an existing processing center on the city’s north side was recently transformed into an RPDC, and an LPC was created in Missouri City.
The transition to this new system is what caused “some unintended and temporary” disruptions, according to the USPS statement.
"This process, as with any such transition, takes time," the statement continued to say. "We are taking steps to ensure packages are processed as quickly and efficiently as possible and apologize to any customers who may be experiencing issues with delivery of their items."
From the statement, it's not made exactly clear how the introduction of an additional USPS facility ultimately slowed down processing. Read the statement in its entirety here.
When we spoke to Congressman Al Green about the changes on Wednesday, he said people are still familiarizing themselves with the use of the technology necessary to move the mail efficiently.
“I want to tour the plant," Green said. "I want to see the facility. I want to get some sense of how this will all work and understand how this south facility will work with the north facility."
USPS said this modernization update is part of the company's 10-year "Delivering for America" plan. USPS said for decades its outmoded network has created significant financial losses, increased deferred maintenance costs, deteriorated workplace conditions for employees and failed to efficiently integrate mail and package processing and delivery.
USPS said the modernization update is necessary and fundamental to its continuation as an organization and a service to its customers.