The Town of Tecumseh is raising concerns over the state of community mailboxes throughout the municipality.
Councillor Andrew Dowie says many of the boxes have been abandoned by Canada Post and have become eye sores with overgrown weeds and unkempt landscaping.
Dowie says the town is now stuck with the cost on maintaining the sites.
"People's front yards are being impacted, mud puddles and ruts, especially where there are no curbs, people just pull off onto the grass. Canada Post is not interested in doing anything about these issues that they have created. Morally and ethically, they installed the boxes, they should be taking care of the boxes."
Maintaining the sites is costing taxpayers money. "This is the federal government saying, 'We are federal government. We can shove things down your throat with no consequence.'" says Dowie. "So our step is really being more vocal about this and educating residents that this is a choice by our federal government to leave the boxes in this state of affairs."
Dowie says the federal government has been dragging its feet on the issue.
"We still have, not only the mailboxes that have been put against town advice in many areas, there are weeds growing around them, there's graffiti and our attempts to outreach to Canada Post have fallen on deaf ears. We are getting answers, but the answers have been that they're not going to do anything about these issues."
Dowie adds, many of the boxes are problem spots in the winter as well as snow and ice is never cleared away.
Tecumseh will now send a letter to Canada Post and the federal government requesting the properties be cleaned up.