Graffiti Wipeout System ... NEW!

Keep Akron Beautiful now operates the Graffiti Wipeout System, a graffiti removal service for public property within the City of Akron. With one agency heading the program, residents, Akron Police and all city departments can quickly relay incoming graffiti reports to Keep Akron Beautiful.

Our agency was chosen to run the graffiti eradication system because of our ability to dedicate time toward its immediate removal within 24-48 hours, the key to successful graffiti prevention.We were also chosen because of our seven years of involvement with the national Graffiti Hurts® program provided by Keep America Beautiful which supplies educational and programming tools to communities, schools, law enforcement and the media to reduce the incidence and severity of graffiti and tagging. Graffiti removal also coincides with our new and expanded mission to improve Akron’s quality of life through beautification and responsible environmental management.

City employees agree having one agency head the graffiti removal operation (previously under seven different departments) will be more resourceful in fighting graffiti. "For many years the City of Akron and Keep Akron Beautiful have been looking for a solution to the graffiti problem in our community. This new eradication system will definitely make a noticeable difference in our neighborhoods and city," said Captain of the Akron Police Department, Daniel Zampelli.

“Consolidating all graffiti removal efforts to one department will increase efficiency and provide a database of information to assist our police force in combating gang and vandal activity,” said Randy Rose of Building Maintenance for Public Works.

Keep Akron Beautiful has planned for the addition of this program for the past year by attaining a $15,000 grant from the Corbin Foundation which will cover the supplies and safety equipment to remove graffiti for the next six months. A $50,000 Ohio Criminal Justice Services grant bought a commercial truck modified with an Accustrip® System, a compressor and heavy-duty pressure washer designed for the purpose of graffiti removal. In March of this year, our agency hired a new employee who will become the Graffiti Removal Supervisor this fall, taken on specifically to combat Akron’s graffiti problem.

Our first graffiti-removal project will be the Improv-e Experience was held at the Akron Skate Park August 22-23, 2008. City of Akron’s Coordinator of Arts and Children’s Programs, Suzie Graham, has teamed with Keep Akron Beautiful, the Akron Police Department and local artists to create a “paint-out” event where a combination of graffiti removal and painting will be used to give the seven-year-old park a face lift against vandalism. Years of vandalism on skating surfaces and the city painting over them have created layers of paint too slippery for skaters to use for recreation. To preserve the “urban” look of the skate park, Graham and local skaters, under the direction of the experienced artists, Todd V., Matthew Miller, Aaron Graham and Kelly Urquhart, will use all-exterior latex paint donated by Bill Steiner of the Portage County Solid Waste Management District. Steiner, with the support of commissioners Christpher Smeiles, Maureen Federick and Charles Keiper, arranged for a donation of more than 50 gallons of recycled paint from their collection points to help make the project possible. “It’s a way to truly recycle paint, and that’s what we’re all about,” said Steiner.

Their donation will be used in conjunction with the support, sponsorships and donations from the City of Akron, the Tony Hawk Foundation, Evolution Skate Shop, Martini Skate Shop, Kilted Yak, Underground, Sun Valley Sports, Lowe’s and Home Depot. The North Main Street Sherwin-Williams store will provide another 50 gallons of paint through Keep Akron Beautiful’s Graffiti Hurts discount.

Keep Akron Beautiful’s Graffiti Supervisor Tim Reid and Litter Control Supervisor William Smith will participate in this event as well by eradicating the graffiti obscuring signs and posts throughout the park. Our agency was awarded a $50,000 Ohio Office of Criminal justice Services grant to purchase a new graffiti abatement system called Accustrip. The Accustrip System® uses a blast of sodium bicarbonate to power wash all types of graffiti from all surfaces. The Mary S. and David C. Corbin Foundation also supplied grant funds for graffiti removal media and safety supplies for the next six months. The Improv-e Graffiti Experience will begin 9:00 a.m. Saturday morning.           

Residents who spot graffiti on public property within Akron are encouraged to report it immediately by dialing 311, the customer service hotline for the City of Akron. To learn more about the high cost of graffiti to communities, what motivates graffiti vandals and how you can prevent graffiti from happening, log on to www.graffitihurts.org.

Top: Graffiti Supervisor, Tim Reid, tests KAB's new graffiti system at Akron's Skate Park. Above: Bruce Hubach from N.T. Ruddock Company