ST. PAUL - The Town of St. Paul is continuing to search for ways to prevent graffiti and vandalism from occurring within the municipality.
On July 13, council approved a recommendation for Community Peace Officers to work night shifts, which will result in a $4/hour premium being added to their pay for those shifts. The town's two CPOs would work together during the special shifts in an attempt to curb the amount of vandalism that is happening.
The annual budget implication is expected to be about $2,000. In the past, the $4/hour night shift premium was only offered to public works employees clearing snow, and this would expand on that policy, said CAO Kim Heyman.
At a previous council meeting, Coun. Ron Boisvert had made a motion to explore the costs of once again hiring a private security company, but that motion was denied. This is an alternative to that, said Heyman, adding, it is a more financially viable option.
Over the past few months, a notable increase in graffiti has been seen around town, especially in the downtown core. While town employees also looked into the possibility of supplying a protective coating to businesses to apply to their buildings, administration reported that it would be too much of a liability since the coating has varying results when applied to different surfaces and there are a number of steps that need to be taken to apply to coating.
"I want to prevent (graffiti) from happening," said Director of Protective Services Trevor Kotowich. "It's endless. It's almost every night," he said, speaking about how frequently the graffiti is happening.
Graffiti kits are available through the St. Paul Community Futures office. Kits include a variety of information for businesses to help remove and prevent vandalism.
Youth Council
In response to the issues being seen, the St. Paul Youth Council has organized a graffiti removal afternoon set for July 22. Graffiti removal will take place from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. throughout town. All ages are welcome to participate and those interested can call (780) 645-5311 for more information.
Participants will meet at the Town of St. Paul FCSS office (5002 51 Ave) and disperse from there.
