Hate messages that included a racial slur and swastikas spray painted on a BC Hydro kiosk and signage on private property along Hightide Avenue earlier this week were removed within a day of their appearance.
According to District of Sechelt communications manager, Lindsay Vickers, municipal parks staff cleaned off orange spray paint that had been applied to the kiosk in the overnight hours between Nov. 1 and 2. Also removed was a damaged "private property" sign at the site, which she said, "contained a hate symbol on it that is unacceptable and has no place in our community." The sign vandalized was attached to temporary fencing that had been installed around a vacant lot in late 2022.
Vickers confirmed that an RCMP file related to that damage and a number of other incidents involving orange spray painting applied to pieces of private property in adjacent areas along Trail Avenue has been opened. Coast Reporter reached out to the RCMP detachment for comment and is awaiting further details.
Reports of the spray painting incidents were posted to Facebook on Nov. 2. An administrator for the Sunshine Coast Community Concerns and FYI posts page Penny Berdahl, who is a resident of the Hightide Avenue neighbourhood, commented on her concerns with late-night activity in the area. "It's so scary living here...people have no idea...it never stops...all night long...so many walking around...many nights screaming and fighting...at all hours," she stated.
Third downtown artwork damaged in a month
The kiosk involved was one of several that received "art wraps" as part of District of Sechelt and BC Hydro cooperative downtown beautification efforts. The artwork that was temporarily defaced is entitled Coastal Landscape. It is by coast-based artist and graphic designer Scott Osborne and was installed at the location in 2020.
On Oct. 7, another District public art piece, a work by Sunshine Coast muralist Dean Schutz entitled “Sunday Afternoon on Sechelt’s Grand Shore," which adorns the washroom structure at the municipality's downtown Rotary Friendship Park, was vandalized with spray paint. Within four days, the RCMP announced that a suspect had been arrested related to that incident.
When asked about the tagging clean up process, Vickers stated, "Removing the spray paint from the hydro box wraps is tricky as we don’t want to use something that might eat right through the plastic wrap. Parks crews will first try using soap and water. If that doesn’t work, they try using sensitive surface wipes. They might also try using acetone. In extreme cases, they may try lacquer thinner, but they need to be very careful with this to ensure it is washed off with soap and water completely otherwise it will continue to corrode the wrap. Elbow grease is a must in all cases."
"Costs can escalate quickly. Today’s removal would have been employee time and material, but damage last week to Hackett Park washroom facility (which displayed a mural added in 2021) is more than $10,000," she stated
