SPC to hear report on graffiti abatement

By Lethbridge Herald on October 10, 2024.

Herald photo by AL BEEBER Graffiti is seen on a downtown building next to the site of the demolished Lethbridge Hotel on Wednesday.

Al Beeber
LETHBRIDGE HERALD

The Economic and Finance Standing Policy Committee of Lethbridge city council will meet at 9:30 a.m today in council chambers.

The SPC consists of the mayor and all members of council.

The SPC has numerous items on its agenda including two presentations and  submissions from different City departments.

The presentations include one by Robin Hepher and Vic Mensch of the Chinook Arch Regional Library System and a second from Sarah Amies, vice chair of the Downtown Lawlessness Task Force and Executive director of the Downtown Lethbridge Business Revitalization Zone.

Amies will address with the SPC the 2024 graffiti abatement strategy. 

Her report to the SPC states that in 2022 there were 88 graffiti tags removed, a number that increased to 405 in 2023, 91 in July alone.

So far in 2024, there have been 132 tags removed with 104 removed between March 1 and 18.

Several methods of removal are used including painting over the tags, power washing them, applying chemicals and combinations of all three of those methods.

The report says favourable weather is needed to removed the tags with cold days requiring an insulated water source and equipment onsite with overnight temperatures of 5C needed for proper paint adhesion.

 Crews also need a safe and clear area to work, access to water, proper equipment and safe access to rooftops.

To address graffiti 12 months a year on private and public buildings/properties and on a wider scale, the report says the BRZ Clean Sweep program needs one more foreman and a vehicle, an insulated/heated trailer, hot water pressure washer and more product as well as personal protection equipment.

The BRZ is also proposing that a part-time foreman and crew member be hired for six months a year to deal with graffiti downtown, in hot spaces and encampment adjacent areas. And time permitting, this crew would also deal with back-alley fire mitigation. 

While much of the tagging happens downtown, the BRZ says it’s appearing elsewhere in Lethbridge in areas that often – but not always – are associated with hotspots police attend.

“The faster a dedicated team removes all tags in Lethbridge, the more artists will realize the futility of tagging for lasting effect,” says a BRZ report.

There are several hotspot zones in the city including:

Zone 1 (North Side No frills and area).

Zone 2 (Across from shelter).

Zone 3 (Small Parks-London Road Park and Kiwanis Park).

Zone 4 (Big Parks- Kinsman Park and area).

Zone 5 (Galt Gardens).

Zone 6 (Crabbe Street Parking, Park’n Ride and Bowman). 

And the incident of fire is rising downtown, says the BRZ, with many caused by business owners who leave incendiary material in alleys for garbage or recycling pickup.

“We propose to pick up these materials on a regular basis to potentially reduce the fire events that cause massive damage within the Downtown. 

“The BRZ would conduct this service in conjunction with LFES which, per direction from the Downtown Lawlessness Reduction Task Force, is developing an education piece for business and property owners,” says the BRZ.

In their report, Hepher and Mensch say Chinook Arch has an operating budget of about $4 million annually with 50 per cent coming from member municipalities and library boards, 25 per cent from provincial operating grants and 25 per cent from such means as fundraising, contracts and purchasing services.

Member fees are based on a per capita levy multiplied by municipal populations with a four-year levy first approved by the Chinook Arch board and then ratified by member councils. 

Any levy increase has to be approved by two-thirds of member municipalities representing two-thirds of the system’s population which gives the City of Lethbride an effective veto of a proposed levy schedule, says the report.

The current per capita levy is $7.76 which was reduced from $8.17 in 2021. 

That levy will remain in place until the end of 2026.

The report says member library boards also pay a per capita levy of $3.57 which hasn’t changed in more than two decades.

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