Decatur Fights Back Against Graffiti

When the former Navo Church space in Oakhurst got hit with large graffiti lettering earlier this year, it sparked an idea.

The City of Decatur has several hotspots for graffiti tags, as they are called. Vandals have tagged signs, including in Mead Road Park next to Oakhurst Elementary, on the rooftops of buildings on the square, and on public utility boxes.

No matter how quickly you can paint over the tags, some spots just get hit again and again, including at the Citgo gas station on West Howard Avenue by the rail crossing.

So the Public Works department got to work on a solution. And what's in store is a pretty one: murals.

“No one ever attacks murals,” said Felix Floyd, facilities maintenance supervisor with the City of Decatur Public Works Department.

Floyd said the city is looking into finding artists who will paint murals and so far, the first building owner who has signed on for the public art project is the owner of the Citgo station.

“It’s an open canvas,” Floyd said. “The owner will clean it off and then it will get attacked again.”

Though the Citgo has security cameras, but they didn’t capture anything.

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 80 percent of all graffiti is considered “tagging.” Nationally, gang graffiti makes up only 10 percent of all tags.  Immediate removal within 24 to 48 hours is key to prevention, according to the website Graffiti Hurts, which is a grassroots community education program run by the Keep America Beautiful.

Larger cities, including Chicago and Phoenix, have paid millions to clean up graffiti. Luckily, the much smaller City of Decatur doesn’t have that big a problem.

Floyd said tagging occurs most often during holidays and summertime.

The City of Decatur adopted a stronger graffiti ordinance last year. The ordinance requires property owners to remove any outside graffiti within 15 days and any city-owned buildings within 24 hours.

Lyn Menne, assistant city manager of community and economic development for Decatur, said the city is identifying other properties to be included in the mural project and hopes that within the next year, the painting can get started.

She said the city is talking to artists housed in the Beacon School, who can take this on as a public outreach project and the Decatur High School may also get involved.

“The cost is minimal,” Menne said. “It’s the cost of paint and supplies.”

To report graffiti to the City of Decatur, email reportgraffiti@decaturga.com or call the Department of Public Works at 404-377-5571.