KENNEWICK, Wash. – Residents of the Tri-Cities RV Park in Kennewick are expressing frustration over ongoing unsafe and unsanitary conditions. Despite raising concerns years ago, tenants say little has improved.
David Wynalda, a long-time resident, described the park’s decline since 2019 when it was sold. “It was a nice clean beautiful park well maintained friendly people good management and then in 2019 the park got sold. And it’s just gone further and further downhill,” he said.
Wynalda has filed hundreds of complaints with the Washington Attorney General’s Office, highlighting issues like broken facilities and unsanitary bathrooms. He claims the state fined Deer Point Meadows Investments, the park’s owner, more than $900,000 for violations, but the company never signed the settlement. “What they do on all my complaints I found out a couple years ago. I got this email that my file has been closed. The state hasn’t stepped in and done. Nothing nothing. Nothing,” he said.
Residents report there is no on-site manager and only one working toilet and shower for more than 100 people. “You got 150, 200 people here, children, and eventually somebody is going to get sick or catch something. There’s mold, mildew, and we’ve only got one shower stall that’s working,” Wynalda said.
Another tenant mentioned that electrical fires have destroyed several trailers, with one incident resulting in the death of a young girl on November 12, 2022. “There’s been already five fires in this park. This one almost burnt down to the ground. A little girl burned to death in her parents motorhome and the motorhome sat there for a long time,” he said.
Wynalda remains hopeful that state leadership will enforce the law. “Enforce the law. Enforce the law that’s on the books. This company should not be operating like this anywhere in the state of Washington,” he said.
The Attorney General’s Office responded to me with the following statement:
“We can confirm that the AGO issued a Notice of Violation and Order for Refunds against this park on February 27, 2024. We later obtained a consent decree involving this and other RV park owners, which included a judgment of more than $1 million to cover the office’s costs and disbursements to impacted tenants. We can also confirm that many complaints were consolidated with ongoing cases involving the same parties and issues. This does not mean the AGO found nothing wrong, but that the office sometimes consolidates matters for efficiency. Some of the complaints against this park are still in the dispute resolution process.”
