MARYSVILLE City officials are vowing to get tough on vandalism while trying not to squeeze property and business owners in the process.
As Marysville weathers on onslaught of vandalism and graffiti, members of the City Council are crafting ordinances that would require graffiti to be covered or removed in as little as 48 or 96 hours or property owners could face fines. They could also be dunned for the costs of removing graffiti, but the city would do a quick cover up for free if business owners agree in advance. Studies have found that graffiti increases the longer it is left; covering it up quickly reduces subsequent occurrences.
The Marysville Police Department has been holding talks with a community-wide task force aimed at fighting the damage to city parks, businesses and residences. Representatives of local school districts, the business community and police agencies met with city planners to discuss options for fighting the latest scourge affecting the city.
The latest plan is to reduce the time frame property owners have to clean, cover or remove graffiti. Current city law allows 30 days before tagging is removed, but City Councilman Jeffrey Vaughan hopes to have updated legislation on the Councils agenda sometime in February. Last week the task force met to hear options and obstacles to fighting vandalism plaguing this town. The last time the city updated related laws was in 1999 and the task force heard from business owners wary of some proposed changes. The city is offering some carrots and sticks. The sticks include:
A reduced timeline to clean or cover tagging. One proposal would give tenants or owners 48 hours to get the job done, and then they would get a notice from the citys code enforcement officer allowing another 48 hours. After that the city can fine the tenant or owner, and clean up the mess and bill the owner for the trouble. This would apply to both commercial and residential properties as well as owners of utility boxes and transformers.
Keeping large felt tip markers and spray paint locked up. The city wants to keep the tools of the trade away from minors and is mulling legislation requiring retailers to keep them under lock-and-key, much like cigarettes. City Attorney Grant Weed used existing ordinances on the California books defining spray paint containers and indelible markers when he wrote the proposed ordinances for Marysville. Business owners say this would be a hassle and increase their costs.

The carrots:
With permission from business or property owners, the police departments senior volunteers will use paint donated by Wal-Mart to cover up graffiti as soon as it appears. It will be a quick cover up and the paint wont match existing decor. But the city must have permission to do so and the committee couldnt reach consensus on how to get permission or access from business owners. Absentee property owners can take awhile to get a hold of, according to code enforcement officer Paul Rochon who had to wait three weeks to reach the Canadian property management firm that owns a State Avenue shopping center.
One option is a reduced business license fee for business owners who agree beforehand, as part of their license terms, to allow the police volunteers to do a quick cover up. Weed said business owners, that is, tenants and not property owners, can authorize the work and he knew of no impediments to requiring access as part of the city-issued business license.
Members of the Greater Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce howled last week at the lockdown requirements, but chamber president Caldie Rogers said her members would get behind the business license incentive.
The odds are 99 percent that you will have the full support of the businesses, Rogers said, referring to a proposal to give businesses a $10 reduction in their license fee is they agree to allow the volunteer work when they buy their license from the city. Ten dollars isnt going to be a heartbreaker.
Vaughan balked at the idea, however, predicting that many business owners will then assume that the city will handle the problem and rely on the senior volunteers instead of getting on graffiti themselves ASAP. He said the city will do its best to put the vandals behind bars but business owners need to shoulder responsibility for keeping their neighborhoods tidy.
We dont have the resources to run around and paint the city every night, Vaughan warned. They need to clean up the mess on their property.
Rogers countered that most of the 1,700 businesses in the area have less than five employees each and cant spare a hand to go around back and paint the back of the business while trying to keep business walking in the front. They dont have the time or resources either, she said.
The committee agreed to recommend the proposed ordinances but did not agree on access incentives. It meets again later this month.