Vigilance about vandalism lauded by Chilliwack city council
Council expressed its appreciation to city staff at the Tuesday meeting in the wake of reduced vandalism costs in the third quarter report for 2012.
Coun. Chuck Stam noted that monthly vandalism totals were “down significantly” overall from 2011 — except for the month of July, which came in at $12,892.
The damage ranged from graffiti or tagging, wire theft, replacing signs, to destruction of facilities, like memorial benches in parks and/or infrastructure.
Repairs to the Cheam Centre parking lot alone in July cost the city $4,225.
Vandalism costs for August and September were $8,413 and $6,000 respectively, which represent a big drop from numbers in those same months last year, at $15,358 and $11,323.
“It’s great news,” said Stam, pointing to efforts by Parks, Recreation & Culture staff to actively prevent the damage.
Last year vandalism cost the city $110,118, whereas the total up to the end of September was only $71,332.
“We’re very appreciative of staff’s attempts, such as whenever there is a graffiti issue, it’s dealt with quickly, such as in the case of the Paramount.”
Automated locks on washrooms are also making a difference, she said.
“It means we don’t have to have the washrooms open all night any more,” Mayor Gaetz added. “Good on our staff for watching out for this kind of stuff.”
jfeinberg@theprogress.com
twitter.com/chwkjourno
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