Windsor Heights closer to its own ZIP code

If the zip code is changed will sex offenders have to reregister and pay additional fees, give new DNA, take new photos, etc.? When new zipcode are issued or changed or split, all these issues come up. Then I wonder if they will tell the sex offenders or just arrest them for moving and failing to reregister? One never knows how law enforcement will interpret circumstances.

5-17-2008 Iowa:

Windsor Heights leaders have unofficially dubbed the small town the "little suburb that could" after announcement by the U.S. Postal Service that it will consider granting the suburb its own unique ZIP code.

"It's that 'I think I can' mentality that finally got us the progress," said City Administrator Marketa Oliver, of the children's book "The Little Engine that Could."

A representative for Congressman Leonard Boswell, D-Ia., on Monday said the postal service will survey Windsor Heights residents about getting a new ZIP code for the city.

Boswell received a letter from the postal service stating it would grant the city a unique ZIP code by July 1, 2009, if a majority of residents surveyed this summer indicate they want the entire city to have the same ZIP code.

Windsor Heights, which is surrounded completely by other cities, shares the ZIP codes of 50311, 50312 and 50322 with neighboring Des Moines and Urbandale.

Boswell in January introduced legislation, at the urging of Windsor Heights officials, that directs the postal service to designate a unique ZIP code for the city. Iowa Sens. Charles Grassley, a Republican, and Tom Harkin, a Democrat, introduced companion legislation in the U.S. Senate.

Windsor Heights spearheaded a crusade 10 years ago to secure a unique ZIP code for the community, where problems with mail deliveries have irritated residents for years.

Confusion between the current ZIP codes and city boundaries has caused mail to be undelivered or returned to senders, has led to difficulty in tracking sex offenders, and has created problems for businesses.

Despite pleas from Windsor Heights city officials, U.S. postal officials had remained adamant that the city will not get its own ZIP code. Postal officials said the town has too few residents and does not have a stand-alone post office. The city receives its mail from three post offices in Des Moines and Urbandale.

The city also is unable to grow.

"It's a lot easier to do that as communities grow. There will not be a Windsor Heights post office, so there won't be the five-digit designation. In a community with fewer than 5,000 and getting delivery services from surrounding cities, there is no need for a stand-alone facility," said U.S. Postal Service spokesman Richard Watkins in January.

Windsor Heights officials get about 50 complaints a year about the city's lack of a unique ZIP code. The issue is the top one residents complain about, city officials said.

Oliver praised the "dogged perseverance" of city leaders in getting the postal service to conduct the survey.

"When I heard, I went 'Woo hoo,' " she said.

Mayor Jerry Sullivan contributed the announcement to support from the Iowa Congressional delegation.

"Leonard (Boswell), if he hadn't spearheaded this for us, we wouldn't have gotten to where we are today," Sullivan said. ..more.. by TOM BARTON