Vandalism at its worst

COEUR d'ALENE — Cases of vandalism and graffiti are on the rise in Coeur d'Alene.

City Parks Director Bill Greenwood said the city has had at least 50 instances of damage to city property this year.

"According to our staff this is the worst we have ever seen," he wrote.

Sgt. Jared Reneau said police fielded 35 reports of graffiti from June through August. That's nearly double the 21 graffiti cases over the same time frame last year.

Reneau said it's difficult to say who is responsible and to catch anyone in the act of vandalism, as it generally happens after hours and police aren't notified right away.

He said it could be a few people behind it, rather than a large number of vandals running around the city.

Downtown is a popular target for marking buildings.

One resident wrote to The Press about graffiti he recently saw on a Lakeside Avenue coffee shop wall.

"This is the first time we’ve ever seen this 'inner-city' garbage in our community," he wrote. "We wonder what is going to be done in response to this? Is this a sign of things to come?"

Greenwood said the city has been hit at several parks, including Northshire, Landings, Bluegrass, McEuen, City Park and Memorial Field, with Landings and Bluegrass seeing the greatest incidents of vandalism.

"At some of these locations we have had to close the restroom for several days and reopen only to have them hit again," he wrote.

In March, "The Suffragist" statue on Front Avenue was sprayed-painted, but city crews cleaned up the next morning. Despite a reward being offered, no suspects were arrested.

In July, two early morning fires at Bluegrass Park near Lake City High School were determined to be intentionally set.

It doesn't officially count as vandalism, but someone recently wrote "Jesus Loves You," with chalk on sidewalks throughout the downtown and McEuen Park areas.

Greenwood said vandals break all kinds of things, from paper dispensers in restrooms to locks on doors to trees in parks.

Someone even spray-painted large rocks on the waterfront at Tubbs Hill, which city crews corrected.

He estimated that this year, about 30 irrigation heads valued at $100 each have been destroyed at McEuen Park.

City staff call police if the vandalism is significant or the graffiti appears to be a gang-related tagging.

Some tags could be attributed to "wannabes."

"I don't think we've got a real gang problem," Greenwood said.

Private property owners who are victims of graffiti are responsible to clean it up in a timely manner.

According to City Attorney Randy Adams, the city will only require removal of graffiti if it constitutes a “public nuisance” in the opinion of the city. Then, the city must give written notice to the property owner, who has 48 hours after receipt of the notice to remove the graffiti.  

"The city may decide to remove the graffiti if the property owner fails to remove it within the time allowed, and the cost will be charged to the property owner," Adams wrote.

Reneau said the goal behind prompt cleanup is to discourage it from happening again.