Article I wrote for the Tri-City Herald newspaper.

1. Tri-City Herald: Local http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/v-printer/story/7688176p-75...
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Kennewick approves RVs for river park
This story was published Wednesday, May 3rd, 2006
By Nathan Isaacs, Herald staff writer
The Kennewick City Council on Tuesday agreed to pave paradise and put in a RV park.
In its 5-2 decision, the council agreed to a shoreline management permit to build a 67-space RV park next to the
entrance of Columbia Park, one of the Tri-Cities' premier parks along the Columbia River.
The project is proposed by the managers for the Columbia Park Golf Course. Council members Bob Olson and Marge
Price opposed the decision.
The proposal would replace the golf course's driving range and would be across the street from the Veterans Memorial
and main entrance road off Highway 240.
Included in the project would be a new 6,000-square-foot clubhouse, space for pitching nine tents, two gazebos and a
70-space parking lot. Also proposed would be landscaping that would mask it all in a swath of greenery.
Gary Long Jr., manager of the golf course, described the RV park and new clubhouse as a destination resort that
could attract tourists from throughout the country wanting to explore the region's wineries or participate in his proposed
fishing tournaments.
Others saw the proposal differently, including John Boland of Kennewick.
"I see no benefit to the city of Kennewick other than it's going to be an eyesore," he said.
That sentiment was echoed by a property owner who lives on Canal Drive overlooking the park, as well as a former
chairwoman of the city's parks and recreation advisory board and by a man who was born there 81 years ago.
Jim Mills said he didn't want to see RVs covering his old homestead, where his relatives planted some of the city's first
cottonwood trees, which still grow there. He also didn't want to see an RV park intrude on the solitude of the Veterans
Memorial.
"I'm not opposed to an RV park in the park, just don't put it in the entrance to the park," Mills said.
Councilman Tom Moak said he didn't believe the RV park would have a detrimental impact on the views from nearby
homes or from along the highway. In fact, he said, it would improve the park's appearance.
He said the project conformed with the city's other efforts to develop the park and saw it as a potential asset to the
city.
Long still has some steps to complete before the project moves forward. The biggest would be in amending his
operating lease with the city to include the RV park.
Long's contract with the city to manage the 18-hole public course is through 2025 with annual lease payments of about
$25,000 that increase to about $29,000 by the end of the contract.
Besides the issue of higher payments, the lease amendment could address how long the RVs could stay at the park.
The permit request approved Tuesday allows for stays from two weeks to a month in any 60-day period during the peak
season, and from one month to two months during the off-season.
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2. Tri-City Herald: Local http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/v-printer/story/7688176p-75...
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