More than two weeks after Research Triangle Park’s top business leaders demanded mail delivery service from the U.S. Postal Service, they’re still in limbo – and that includes startups operating out of places such as Frontier RTP and First Flight Venture Center.
Lawmakers and business leaders – including from some of the region’s largest employers such as IBM (NYSE: IBM), Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) and Biogen (Nasdaq: BIIB) – sent letters to U.S. Postmaster Louis DeJoy Sept. 6, asking for carrier delivery service – something that, despite all the growth in RTP, they’re still not getting.
But they were still waiting for a response as of Friday.
Krista Covey, president of RTP-based entrepreneurial support organization First Flight Venture Center, said it’s a “serious” problem for startups located within its accelerator.
“Think of a situation where you’re waiting on a check for payment for your services,” she said. “That’s especially important for startups. Every dollar in it is critical to them, and if you’re not able to receive that check, it’s serious.”
Chris Broderick, CEO of biotech Merakris Therapeutics, located at the Frontier RTP office complex, says it’s not uncommon to just not receive checks – forcing awkward phone calls with customers.
For reliable service, Merakris uses third party couriers like Fedex (NYSE: FDX) and pays for a PO Box. It’s making it work – and Broderick has no plans to move. But he says it’s frustrating.
“It’s been inconvenient, especially when mail gets returned and payments to our company,” he said. “What do we have to do to get U.S. mail for hundreds of companies that are reliant on a federal service? I mean, it seems like such a simple fix, but I don’t understand the missing gap.”
Scott Levitan, CEO of the Research Triangle Foundation, which oversees RTP, said he hoped the recent letters would have been “more impactful.”
“It’s all about building successful economic development and equitable communities, after all,” he said.
In the meantime, startups are dealing with the situation, said Covey. Its courier is "staying busy," and it's working with its tenant companies on other options.
But it's not enough for everyone.
An RTP business owner who did not want to be identified said his team is working on contingency plans – and that could mean leaving the park.
Officials have said they’re still hopeful they’ll hear back from the USPS, and insiders say meetings with postal administrators are being planned.
Josie Feron, communications director for U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross of North Carolina's 2nd congressional district, said it can “often take a month or two” to hear back on these kinds of requests.
But for businesses working around the problem in RTP, each day without a solution is frustrating, they say.
The USPS did not provide a comment for this story.
