The city is working to cover up graffiti on buildings and fences in North Battleford. (Angela Brown/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Angela Brown

City approval

CMHA graffiti cover up program gets go ahead

Apr 27, 2022 | 12:06 PM

The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) Battlefords Branch proposal to start a graffiti cover up program is now approved to get underway.

Executive director Jane Zielke de Montbrun previously brought forth the idea to North Battleford city council for local CMHA volunteers to paint a patch over the graffiti in a similar colour to the structure, wherever it is requested within the city.

Council approved the proposal at Monday’s council meeting as recommended by city administration.

Mayor David Gillan believes the program will be a good way to deal with graffiti on private properties.

“The city is providing the supplies and coordinating with our other agencies and staff to provide them with the locations,” he said. “Then, the owner of the property will make a decision on getting this covered with CMHA or doing it themselves.”

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The Battlefords Citizens on Patrol Program (COPP) participants reported over 100 places in the city where graffiti and tagging was identified.

City manager, Randy Patrick, reminded city council the CMHA graffiti clean up program will be to simply to cover up graffiti, not remove it.

In the process when property owners receive a clean up order from the city to address graffiti on their property, they will also be given information with a phone number to call if they wish to have a CMHA volunteer go out and cover up the markings.

The CMHA will advise the city Community Safety Officers (CSO) Dept. when its volunteers complete a project. Then, the tracking to remove the clean up order from the property will be done by the city.

Patrick said homeowners are required to remove graffiti from their properties within 14 days after being notified by the city. If they don’t cover it or remove it in some way, under the bylaw the city will send a private contractor to look after it, and the city will charge the homeowner for the work. So it benefits the property owner to address the problem early.

For those who question how to identify graffiti as opposed to art, Patrick noted graffiti is described as a marking that defaces or disfigures a structure or accessory, such as a fence.

“That’s where the professional judgement comes in,” he said.

City director of Protective Services, Lindsay Holm, said in his report typically the city’s CSOs would be assigned to visit the property in question and verify the marking and location.

“They would go out and see if it is actually graffiti,” he said. “Somebody could have drawn a mural on a wall. They will make an evaluation of it.”

The cost for the paint and brushes used by the local CMHA volunteers to cover up the graffiti or taggings after they are assigned to a location will be taken care of by the city Protective Services Dept. budget under Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) funding.

“The effectiveness of the program will be continually monitored through statistical analysis by the CSO Department utilizing compliance percentages for graffiti clean up for orders written for this purpose,” Holm said.

He added the main focus of the program will be “to ensure the rapid cover up of graffiti to [make sure] properties are not unsightly.”

People can report any graffiti sightings on the city’s Service Request tracker at the link on the city’s website here.

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Angela.Brown@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @battlefordsnow