Spokane City Council doubles funding to remove abandoned, nuisance RVs

Kyle Simchuk by Kyle Simchuk

Copyright 2019 KXLY.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without prior permission. RV parked outside Harmon Park in Hillyard.

Abandoned and nuisance RVs continue to pop up in Spokane neighborhoods — it’s a trend Spokane City Council is trying to put the brakes on.

Council members voted to double the amount of money the city dedicates to towing and disposing junk RVs parked for more than 24 hours on city streets.

John Hartill lives across the street from Harmon Park in Hillyard and said one RV has been parked on the same street for nearly two months. He said the people camping inside often urinate in the street.

“We would be grateful for it to be gone and stay gone,” he said.

The city of Spokane entered a two-year, $99,000 contract with Evergreen State Towing at the start of 2019. Current spending is outpacing money. 40 RVs have already been towed this year costing the city $46,881 and leaving $3,118 in the 2019 disposal budget.

Council members agreed to double the budget during Monday’s council meeting. The amended contract with Evergreen State Towing includes $100,000 each year for towing and disposing nuisance RVs. The current contract expires at the end of 2020.

COPYRIGHT 2020 BY KXLY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.