Wenatchee Parks & Rec Requests New Hire to Keep Up with Vandalism

The City of Wenatchee’s Parks & Recreation Department is requesting another fulltime employee.

If approved, the money to fund the hire would be provided as part of the city’s 2023 operating budget.

Parks director, Dave Erickson, says he needs another person primarily to keep up with the increasing rate of vandalism at the city’s parks.

“It’s really picked up the last couple of years and it’s every day. We’re dealing with graffiti, broken restrooms, cut fences – you name it, we’re seeing it.”

Erickson says not only has the rate of vandalism been increasing but it’s also becoming more widespread.

“It’s pretty much system-wide now. Years ago, it used to just be in the south end. We’d see it at Locomotive Park and at Lincoln Park, but it’s really migrated to everywhere. Now we’re seeing more and more of it at Rotary Park and really all the parks we have.”

Erickson adds that the parks department was using a temporary seasonal employee to deal with graffiti and vandalism, but that simply isn’t enough to keep up with the problem.

The city’s budget for next year hasn’t been finalized just yet but mayor Frank Kuntz says it’s close to being done.