Mayor tries to prevent identity theft of Bridgeton

BRIDGETON - Mayor Rodman Williams says he's worried that a move from the U.S. Postal Service could compromise the identity of Bridgeton.

He has heard that the Postal Service is considering charging a box-rental fee for people who live outside a certain radius of the Bridgeton post office on U.S. 17. If they wish to get their mail for free, they'll have to give up a free post office box and get a mailbox, he says.

And with that mailbox would come a New Bern address.

That's because Bridgeton does not have a rural-route carrier of its own and would have to rely on service from New Bern.

"I got a phone call about it and it worried me enough that I felt like I needed to do a letter to try to nip it in the bud, so to speak," Williams said Sunday. "I get a free box right now myself, but it's not about the money.

"It's not about the money; it's the principle of the thing. Here is the stickler: The mayor of Bridgeton doesn't need to have a New Bern address."

With the support of town commissioners, Williams has fired off a letter to David Fields, a district manager for the Postal Service who is based in Charlotte.

"We strongly object to this," Williams wrote. "We would like to strongly urge you to consider hiring a rural-route carrier for the Bridgeton Post Office to serve the area from the Neuse River throughout the surrounding area of Bridgeton. This would allow our citizens to obtain a mailbox for their home, while retaining a Bridgeton ... mailing address."

In the letter, Williams points out that the town recently annexed nearly 700 acres that will become part of Bridgeton Harbor, a half-billion-dollar development in progress in the town. While the land is undeveloped right now, it is expected to be the site of residential units within five years.

If some of Bridgeton's residents have to get mailboxes that are served by New Bern carriers, it is bound to generate some confusion about which letters go where, Williams said.

"We've both got A Street and B Street and New Street," he said. "This is not about being anti-New Bern, but there's already enough confusion right now about what belongs to who, especially when there is land that is close to Bridgeton that has an actual New Bern address because it has been annexed."

Neither Williams nor the town has received a response from the Postal Service as of yet. The letter was only recently mailed and the town is continuing a "fact-finding mission" while it waits to hear from the Postal Service, Williams said.

"We are trying very hard to retain our identity, because we are not New Bern," he said. "We are across the river - and we are proud to be who we are."