The three bowls at Kent’s West Hill Skate Park will get another new look this month.
The temporary mural painted on the bowls last summer by a young, local Kent artist and volunteers did what it was intended to do as it curbed graffiti. The park is at Reith Road and 42nd Avenue South.
City officials received no submissions to its design contest this year, but employees from several city departments have taken matters into their own hands and will be rolling out a new mural Aug. 19-21, according to a city of Kent media release.
Each bowl will feature a unique design and will be sketched out first by Scott Madoulet and Mike Hatrup from the parks facilities department and by Dea Drake of multimedia. Madoulet and Hatrup took several design ideas directly to skateboarders at West Hill Skate Park for their reactions.
Employees from Kent Police, parks and planning contributed design ideas and will help with the painting.
Rodda Paint Co., courtesy of Craig Turrentine, will donate the paint, valued at $400.
City crews will close West Hill Skate Park during the three painting days. Volunteers from the neighborhood, including skateboarders, are welcome to help paint. Contact Victoria Andrews, Kent Parks, at 253-856-5113 for details.
“Graffiti vandalism is a crime categorized under malicious mischief,” said Sara Wood, education specialist for Kent Police, who organizes groups to do monthly graffiti paint-outs around the city. “The best prevention strategy is to paint over it within 24to 48 hours. We can’t always get to it that quickly. Murals on public property are one tactic that can reduce tagging. If taggers respect the artwork, they may tag areas around it, but they tend to leave the art alone. Last year’s mural stayed intact for most of the year.”
City officials hope the mural will reduce the amount of resources spent by staff and volunteers to combat vandalism. For tips about what businesses and homeowners can do to prevent graffiti, or to file a graffiti report, go to www.kentgraffiti.com.
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