By JACINDA HOWARD, The Mirror
The city may dedicate $200,000 toward efforts to battle rampant graffiti, metal theft and vandalism.
The Federal Way City Council conducted its first 2007-2008 mid-biennium budget amendment meeting Nov. 6. Listed in the proposed amendment is $100,000 to cover the costs of graffiti, metal theft, accidents and vandalism for the 2007-2008 year.
The money, along with $55,000 worth of graffiti removal equipment and $45,000 marked for graffiti paint-out days, will allow the city to continue fighting graffiti, replacing stolen items and rectifying vandalized materials.
Graffiti, metal theft and vandalism all occurred in higher frequency throughout the city in 2007 than in past years, according to the amendment. Graffiti has shown up in public parks, streets, schools and neighborhoods. Metal theft is on the rise as well, Assistant City Manager Iwen Wang said. Metal, a costly purchase, must be replaced when stolen, and the city’s abundance of graffiti has forced it to hire an intern to paint over the tagging.
If the council approves the mid-biennium budget, both the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services and public works departments will see $50,000 each to cover costs in 2007 as well as future costs to be accrued in 2008. The money will allow the departments to be more efficient in their citywide efforts to remove graffiti, spokeswoman Linda Farmer said.
The public works department will see $55,000, in addition to the initial $50,000, in the form of graffiti-removal equipment if the mid-biennium budget, as it appears now, is passed. The city has had its eye on the machinery, called the Farrow 185, since July and believes it will make the graffiti clean-up effort easier.
The machinery has the ability to remove graffiti from cement, brick, steel and wood surfaces by using a sandblasting method through a combination of air, water and sand.
The machinery is also mounted on a trailer, which will make it easier to transport throughout the city. It is generally used in England to restore ships and buildings, street systems manager Marwan Salloum said.
Federal Way purchased the machinery knowing that several retaining walls —some of which may become canvasses for graffiti — will soon be completed on Pacific Highway South, Salloum said.
The equipment will allow the graffiti to be removed from surfaces rather than covered up with paint, Assistant City Manager Cary Roe said when the city first began its exploration of the equipment.
The city’s internship position for painting over graffiti will continue through 2008, Farmer said. Ultimately, the machinery will reduce the amount of money and time the city uses to remove graffiti. It is uncertain how much of each will be saved, Farmer said.
“That’s the goal, to reduce man-hours,” she said.
Money to be used toward a 2008 graffiti cover-up day is also included in the mid-biennium budget. A total of $25,000 would be dedicated to this project, which has not yet been scheduled, code compliance officer Greg Vause said.
A total of $20,000 will cover costs accrued by the city’s first graffiti cover-up project, which took place this past April.
Contact Jacinda Howard: jhoward@fedwaymirror.com or (253) 925-5565.
The Federal Way City Council will hold its third mid-biennium budget amendment meeting at the regularly scheduled council meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 20, at City Hall, 33325 8th Ave. S. The last meeting will take place at 7 p.m. Dec. 4 at the following council meeting, to be conducted at the same time and location. The final budget will be adopted on this date.
