The Park at Stoneridge

2009 Graffiti Removal Program

Stamp Out Graffiti In Our Neighborhood

The City of San Antonio's Housing and Neighborhood Services Department is excited to introduce a brand-new graffiti initiative for 2009! We are looking for active neighborhood leaders who are tired of seeing graffiti and want to take charge of their community! While most graffiti can be addressed by City staff by calling 311 (for all city services), many times it takes a couple of days to address. By providing citizens with their own "Wipe It Out SA" graffiti volunteer kits, graffiti on PUBLIC property such as retaining walls, bridges and drainage channels can be addressed more quickly and thoroughly (private property can be addressed as long as the property owner has given permission). Each volunteer who signs up will get a 5 gallon bucket with 1 gallon of recycled paint, paint tray, roller, brush, goggles, safety vest and Safewipes to remove graffiti from public property and traffic signs (see attached photo). Each kit is provided free of charge to City of San Antonio residents who fill out an application and liability release form to participate (see attached). We require a monthly reporting from each volunteer of how many hours they volunteered, the square footage of graffiti that they removed or the amount of paint they used. In return, we will refill extra paint and wipes, as requested, on a monthly basis.
Each active volunteer qualifies for an incentive program where they will earn items depending the amount of hours they volunteer, for example; after 10 hours each volunteer qualifies to get a volunteer t-shirt. Other incentives include journals, mugs, tape measures, etc. ALSO, each active volunteer after volunteering for 10 hours will have an opportunity to borrow a portable pressure washer and paint sprayer for their community clean-ups!

This is an exciting program and I hope that each of you will consider joining us to help tackle the graffiti issues in our community. Should you have any questions on this program, you can contact myself or Melissa Guedea at 260-3095, melissa.Guedea@sanantonio.gov.

As always, if you would like to request a graffiti speaker for your group, please contact me - let's work together to keep San Antonio beautiful, we can't do it without you!

I also wanted to let you know that kits and applications are available at your city council field office, should it be easier to pick one up!

CD 9 - 900 Isom Rd, ste 102

I am VERY excited to introduce the FIRST and ONLY approved graffiti remover for citizens to use on traffic signs. The Safewipes (pre-moistened towelettes with chemicals) which are included in each kit is the ONLY chemical product approved by the City of San Antonio's Public Works Department to be used on their traffic signs. Please do NOT use paint thinners or any other harsh chemical on these signs as they reduce reflectivity and damage the film (causing safety hazards).

Please email me with any questions, ideas, etc as we are ALWAYS looking for solutions! Thank you for helping your community!

Lisa M. McKenzie
Neighborhood Services Coordinator/Graffiti Abatement Program
Housing and Neighborhood Services Department/City of San Antonio
1400 Flores/San Antonio, TX/78204
210.207-5430 Office/210.394-3473 cell/210.207-5416 fax
Lisa.McKenzie@sanantonio.gov

Grab a brush and register as a Community Graffiti Volunteer! More information, and an application can be found at www.sanantonio.gov/graffiti

Links

Official Website for the City of San Antonio