Parks staff ready Columbia Point, trails and restrooms ahead of Ironman; tennis court project moves to construction

Parks staff told the Richland Parks and Recreation Commission on Sept. 11 that crews have focused this month on preparing high-use sites for the upcoming Ironman competition and on completing a scheduled tennis-court replacement.

Director Waite said crews had done vegetation management along the Riverfront Trail, trimmed low tree limbs, repainted shade structures and repaired the restroom building at Columbia Point Marina Park after vandalism involving fireworks. Waite said the restroom repairs and other work were completed so the facilities would be “up to our standards” for the event.

Waite also said the parks team is continuing a year-round approach to seasonal hiring to maintain adequate staffing as employees leave for college or other work. “We have a really good support of seasonal employees,” Waite said, noting staff is using rolling hiring rather than a single spring recruiting push.

On capital projects, staff said a preconstruction meeting for the Leslie Groves tennis court replacement took place and the project will proceed within a two-season construction window to allow surfacing work to be completed in appropriate temperatures.

Commissioners asked about other park maintenance: Waite said the Columbia Park West marina removal that began in July is now complete; no-wake signs removed as part of the marina work are being coordinated with other jurisdictions for reinstallation near the boat launch.

Staff said they will continue site inspections and finalize timelines with contractors; the parks team estimated new work such as sculpture installation or large paving/irrigation changes would most likely occur in spring construction windows.