CHATSWORTH : Sand Solicited for Removal of Graffiti

Los Angeles police have pulled together work crews, officers and donated sandblasters to fight increasing graffiti in the northwest San Fernando Valley, but their daily expeditions are jeopardized by one detail--a shortage of sand.

“People think you go to a sand lot and just get it, they don’t realize even sand costs money,” said Mary Gemuendt, executive director of the Chatsworth Chamber of Commerce.

As part of a new push against crime in the area, chamber members have formed an anti-graffiti committee that is soliciting donations of sand from local businesses. So far, donations have been slow, but the chamber plans to devote some proceeds from upcoming chamber fund-raisers, including a community Fourth of July celebration and fireworks display, to help provide a consistent supply of sand, Gemuendt said.

There is no money for sand in the Police Department’s budget. Sand for the Devonshire division of the department has been provided through donations for several years, said Ruben Lopez, Police Department community relations officer. But with the division’s sand bill now exceeding $3,000 per year, the crews of probationers and volunteers have often come up short, said Dick Pearson, head of the chamber’s crime and graffiti committee.

“We run out of sand because we run out of contributions,” said Officer Larry Carmona, who oversees graffiti removal crews. The sand is purchased by the bagful. Not just any sand will do; only specially produced sand high in silica will remove graffiti without clogging the machines, said Lopez.

“It’s not that sand is that expensive, it’s that we use tons and tons of sand,” said Lopez. “Look out there--there’s graffiti all over the place.”

In recent weeks, the division’s two sandblasters fell silent because the sand supply was exhausted. City Councilman Hal Bernson filled the gap with a $1,500 donation from his community service fund to buy sand in the coming months. By next year, Pearson said the chamber hopes to make such last-minute financing unnecessary. Pearson said the chamber is organizing businesses in Chatsworth into business watches that will contribute regularly to sand purchases.