Letter: Bad decisions in West Richland on park fees
On Sept. 1, the West Richland City Council made two significantly bad decisions.
The first was when the council voted to increase park impact fees from $860 to $1,235 per property, an increase of 44 percent. This city “tax” is added to the price of new homes and will have a direct negative impact on home construction, according to the homebuilders association. West Richland is the second most expensive city in the area in which to build.
The second was when the council voted to significantly increase park use fees. This is another city “tax” increase for the citizens to use our own parks. $5 per hour!
But the worst part of the park use fees is the direct negative impact on the youth sports leagues that are a cornerstone of the community. The Little League will now pay to rent the baseball fields that they built. The youth football league has already left, and the Little League and youth soccer are is now in negotiations to move elsewhere.
Council members Benegas, Buel, Brown and Perkes severely damaged the quality of life for all West Richland residents. The bad decisions have to stop!
Mark Mathews
West Richland
This story was originally published October 11, 2015 at 6:02 PM with the headline "Letter: Bad decisions in West Richland on park fees."