Richland City Council Workshop 8-25-2026

Richland City Council workshop, August 25, 2026, focused first on a preliminary 2027 Capital Improvement Program (CIP), with staff emphasizing that project amounts and funding sources remain under development ahead of the city manager’s recommended budget due October 1. The plan covered electric substations and utility replacements; municipal fleet and facility needs; parks, trails, and playgrounds; street safety and preservation; and water, wastewater, stormwater, and solid-waste systems. Notable items included $3 million for design and validation of the police station renovation, with construction anticipated later; a roughly $1.3 million Track Q waterline and landfill project, including $800,000 in new funding; a $1.1 million Columbia Point Marina playground, including a $200,000 request; and $3 million in already-secured state funding for Safe Routes to School work. Staff also described a $900,000 compost-pad expansion planned for 2028 and a wastewater digester construction project expected to be financed through bonding or, if awarded, a Public Works Board loan. The CIP was presented for discussion; no project awards or budget approvals were voted on at the workshop.

For the police station, the city has received qualifications responses for an owner’s representative and expects to bring a selection contract to the second council meeting in September, with the goal of presenting the project to the state design-build committee in December. The city is exploring potential additional tenants and training space while initially limiting renovation to the police station and necessary building-wide systems. The council also received an update on automated license plate reader (ALPR) systems: following Washington’s 2026 SB 6002, the department registered its systems with the state and is completing training, configuration, and compliance checks before activation; the workshop took no vote on ALPR use, and the related contract had been approved previously. The mayor noted a $1.6 million grant received by the police department.