Richland staff report on Columbia Park West meal distribution, propose relocation and signage

Deputy City Manager Schissel updated the commission April 11 on a resident complaint that her use of a Columbia Park West shelter had been disrupted by a volunteer-run meal distribution organized by an individual known online as “Camo Dave.” Schissel said the city consulted the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — which owns Columbia Park West and leases it to the city — and offered a nearby paved, accessible parking area in Columbia Park West as an alternative location for the meal service to reduce conflicts between park users.

Schissel said the Corps is comfortable with the relocated meal service so long as it does not damage the federal resource and that the use remains during daytime hours, because the Corps treats the site as a day-use facility. The city has provided an accessible portable toilet and city-owned picnic tables where the meal distribution is temporarily located.

“Columbia Park West ... is federal property, it's owned by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and leased to the city through our recreational lease,” Schissel told the commission, adding that the Corps authorized the relocation as long as vegetation and park resources are not damaged. Schissel said the city plans to install signage informing park users that Columbia Park West is day‑use only and that city enforcement and Corps rules would apply.

Schissel said staff is encouraging the meal organizer to formalize operations and to consider nonprofit or faith‑based partners and commercial kitchen access to reduce public‑health risks associated with large-scale meal distribution. He noted a state law carve‑out for gleaning and distribution to persons in need that still carries public‑health regulation.

Commissioners asked whether the shelter was reservable (it is first-come, first-served), whether food-safety requirements apply, and whether any enforcement or permitting steps were needed; staff said some shelters are reservable but this one is not and that staff will monitor the site under existing camping and day‑use rules.

City staff described the short-term solution as an interim step; Schissel said the long-term plan is to assist the organizer in moving operations off public parkland to a facility with a commercial kitchen or to an affiliated nonprofit or faith‑based partner.