Police close parts of Columbia and Wye parks after damage and ‘illegal activities’

Richland officials are blaming a rash of vandalism and illegal activities for closing portions of two city parks on Friday.

Officials announced the closure of a majority of Wye Park and a western section of Columbia Park next to the marina near Bateman Island in a afternoon news release.

When decision was put into place Friday, teams went into the park to make sure no one was still there, City Parks and Public Facilities Director Chris Waite said.

Fences along side barriers with signs were set up with the hope of keeping people from returning.

There are unconfirmed reports that the city had cleared out campers, towed away three or four vehicles and made some arrests.

Waite could only say that he was aware of one vehicle that wasn’t running and police were talking with the owner.

A surge of damage over the last two weeks forced the city to take action to preserve the wild land that it leases from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Waite said. One of the mandates of the lease is to protect the natural resources.

This destruction includes a number of trees cut down, a fire near the Columbia Park Marina last week, and wood stacked on barbecues for fires, he said. People were also caught using chainsaws to cut down trees.

“(The park is) a natural resource that we’re required to protect. We felt it was imperative to take this step,” Waite said. “We need to go take a breather and give the wildlife some space to recover.”

Officials plan to assess the full extent of the damage to the parks over the next few weeks as well as do maintenance to the facilities in the area.

Assigning blame

Waite said he didn’t want to assign blame to any group for causing the damage.

The city sent out a release Friday afternoon announcing the closures saying that it’s “ commitment to community well being includes those experiencing homelessness.“

“The city and their partners understand that many individuals wish to help those in need, and we appreciate the compassion shown by community members. However, unpermitted activities that are not coordinated with the county, city or the local health district can lead to unintended consequences,” the release said.

Officials said they appreciated the compassion shown by the community groups offering assistance to homeless people.

“Our parks are meant to be welcoming spaces for everyone and we are committed to addressing the needs of our community compassionately,” Schiessl said. “This closure is a necessary step to protect the park environment and ensure the safety of all visitors.”

One of those community groups helping people is Camo Dave, a group that is described on Facebook as homeless people feeding the homeless community.

The group’s mission is to provide hope for homeless people that there is a way to get off of the street.

According to the group, the city provided the mobile eatery an area of Wye Park with four picnic tables in March. That area has now been closed to the public.

When asked if the closures would impact Camo Dave, Ryan Hart with the group, responded that a recent switch to providing shelf stable food made it possible for them to travel anywhere.

“’The question now is, where will they (the homeless) go?’ There isn’t a place that is acceptable just a bunch of places they can’t go to,” Hart said in a comment. “I’m confident that Camo Dave will adapt and continue to find and support our friends, wherever they may go.”

They did accept that the city and county have a responsibility to protect the public and preserve the parks for the future.

“Unfortunately, our homeless friends don’t always care for the local environment well or appreciate the effort or expense involved in supporting them,” he said.

Other volunteers who have been helping the homeless community told the Herald that they dispute the city’s account of extensive damage. They said they had seen some isolated damage, but it was not widespread.

Volunteers still tried to feed people Friday evening, further down the road at the Kiwanis building, with two Kennewick police patrol cars sitting across the parking lot.

This story was originally published October 25, 2024 at 6:17 PM.