FILLMORE : Volunteers Sought to Battle Graffiti

Fillmore city officials hope to enlist community members in their ongoing battle against graffiti. This week, the City Council approved a proposal by El Concilio, an Oxnard-based United Way agency, to train volunteers and solicit donations for materials to remove graffiti.

El Concilio’s pilot program in Oxnard’s La Colonia district has been a cooperative effort between the city, local residents and various community service agencies, said Lonnie Miramontes, youth services coordinator for El Concilio. The two-month-old graffiti removal project has been well-received.

“We have residents going out, speaking to kids and telling them not to write on the walls,” Miramontes said. “And kids are saying they want to paint murals where the graffiti has been covered over.” Fillmore resident Leticia Tinoco told council members that she would volunteer her services. “Getting together to paint over the graffiti unites parents and kids,” she said. Tinoco, who has done volunteer work for El Concilio for about three years, told City Council members that she knew about a dozen Fillmore residents who were eager to participate in the anti-graffiti effort.

Fillmore now spends about $5,000 annually on graffiti removal, and Public Works Supt. John Kozar said he liked the idea of enlisting the community’s help. He said he planned to meet with El Concilio representatives as soon as possible to get the project moving. “If we can get the people involved, we might curb this graffiti,” Kozar said.

Tinoco said that graffiti removal by local residents would be “more than a whitewash job. It’s about pride in the community.”