effective date: immediate policy #bp-283

supersedes BP#233 resolution #029-06

subject: MAILBOX INSTALLATION/DAMAGE REIMBURSEMENT POLICY

adopted by the board of ingham county road commissioners on FEBRUARY 9, 2006

MAILBOX INSTALLATION:

Mailboxes should provide a means for residents and businesses to receive mail. Mailboxes and their support posts should not be a hazard to motorists using the public roads in Ingham County. Therefore, it shall be the Road Commission’s policy to initiate the removal of any mailbox and/or mailbox support that presents a hazard to motorists in conjunction with the Road Commission’s Right of Way Encroachment Policy. Mailbox installations must conform to U.S. Postal Service regulations and follow standards set by the Ingham County Road Commission. The Ingham County Road Commission is creating this policy to provide safer roadways for county residents and the motoring public.

The mailbox and its support will be considered hazardous to motorists when traffic speed limits are greater than 25 MPH and the box and the support exceed the following structural limitations:

1. Mailboxes and newspaper boxes must be constructed of sheet metal, plastic or similar lightweight materials.

2. A single four inch by four inch (4”x4”) square or four inch (4”) diameter wooden post, or light gage pipe with a strength no greater than two inch (2”) standard steel pipe embedded no more than 24 inches in the ground will be accepted as a mailbox support.

3. No more than two mailboxes can be mounted on a support structure unless the configuration has met AASHTO crash test standards. However, newspaper boxes may be mounted below the mailbox on the side of the mailbox support.

4. Multiple installations must meet the same criteria as single mailbox installations.

If a mailbox installation is in violation of this policy and is determined to present a hazard to motorists, the owner will be requested by the Ingham County Road Commission to remove it. An Encroachment Removal Order in accordance with MCL 247.171 will be issued requiring the owner to remove the box and support within 30 days. If the owner does not comply, the mailbox and support will be removed by the Ingham County Road Commission at the owner’s expense.

DAMAGE:

For damages caused by Ingham County Road Commission snow removal operations, the mailbox and/or post damage reimbursement policy shall be a reimbursement to the property owner in the amount of $15.00 per mailbox and/or post. The reimbursement will only be issued if it is determined by the Road Commission that the truck and/or plow equipment actually struck the mailbox and/or post. This does not apply when damage is the result of snow hitting the mailbox and/or post.

All previous policies regarding mailbox placement and/or mailbox and/or post damage reimbursement shall be rescinded and replaced by this policy.