Supervisor of County Highways, Jason Peters asked the Marshall County Commissioners to consider implementing mailbox regulations at their meeting Tuesday morning.
While there has never been a formal policy, the County Highway Department has had an unwritten policy to replace mailboxes that were hit by a snowplow but not those that were struck by the flying snow off the plow.
During the meeting Peters said that mailboxes are most generally placed in the county’s right-of-way, but many times they are at the edge of the roadway and when the highway is pushing back the snow to the edge of the roadway they have been known to accidentally break-off a mailbox post. He suggested moving mailboxes back several feet off the roadway surface and providing a pull-off area for the mail delivery person.
Peters said the highway department will use a standard mailbox for replacement.
Commissioner Kurt Garner said maybe it would be better to just give a stipend instead of purchasing mailboxes.
The commissioners tabled any action on the request to allow them time to consider how to handle the situation.
