Goldendale adopts parks plan after concern over tribal-culture language

Goldendale City Council unanimously adopted a comprehensive parks plan at its Oct. 5, 2026, meeting, according to Gorge Country Media. The city’s meeting page lists the meeting date.

The plan followed a three-year effort involving the city, Klickitat County Economic Development, Central Klickitat Parks & Recreation District and the Public Works Park Committee. The report described the document as a strategic guide intended to help meet requirements for state and federal grant applications.

The previous parks plan was completed in 2000, the report said. The new plan’s adoption establishes a strategic document for the city, but the coverage did not identify specific projects approved through the vote or any funding awarded.

Concern over tribal-culture language

During the council meeting, Councilor Theone Wheeler raised concern that a broader aspirational statement acknowledging local tribal culture was missing from the final plan. The report said history-related material remained in the document, but the broader statement did not.

Keaton Curtis of the county economic-development office said projects involving tribal history, interpretive signage or outdoor recreation involving tribal culture could still be proposed in grant applications, according to the report. That response addressed potential future applications; it did not establish that any such project had been approved or funded.

The reported unanimous vote adopted the plan, while the discussion highlighted a difference between the final document’s language and projects that could be proposed later. The report did not specify an implementation schedule, project costs or grant amounts.