GROUP RUBS OUT GRAFFITI\Volunteers spend weekends erasing Santa Clarita vandalism.

Byline: Sherry Joe Crosby Daily News Staff Writer

When Meg Francoeur saw graffiti on a wall near her Canyon Country home, she wasted no time reporting her find to the Sheriff's Department.

That was two years ago. Now the Lucky grocery store manager belongs to the city's Pride Committee, a group of 25 volunteers who fight graffiti using sandblasters, paintbrushes and a pressure washer.

"It's a wonderful resource we have," said Kevin Tonoian, the city's graffiti abatement coordinator. "It's a full-time job. They're out there working, trudging through mud."

Each Saturday, the volunteers oversee mostly teens serving community service sentences, erasing graffiti from walls, freeway overpasses and sides of buildings. During the week, the volunteers venture out alone, scrubbing away unwanted spray paint.

Francoeur spends more than eight hours a month battling graffiti because she doesn't want to see Santa Clarita deteriorate.

"It's a unique community," she said. "I came from the San Fernando Valley. This is like a small town."

Last year, the city suffered $175,900 in graffiti-related damage, Tonoian said. Of that, the city spent $104,800 on graffiti removal and personnel costs.

That includes Santa Clarita Transit, which spent $37,000 on personnel costs and replacing damaged bus windows. The city parks division spent 267 staff hours tackling vandalism in 13 parks for a total cost of $27,000.

When graffiti is sprayed on a wall or freeway overpass, it hurts the image of the entire community, civic leaders said. For small-business owners, vandalism can be detrimental.

"It's going to detract from the appearance of the store," said Marc Aronson, president of the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce. "It could drive people away."

In recent years, the city has acted aggressively to reduce graffiti, including adopting ordinances that require business owners to remove graffiti within seven days and monitoring sales of aerosol paint and marking pens - popular vandalism tools.

Aronson said the measures have worked to reduce vandalism in the city. He also said the city's location and low crime rate have helped keep graffiti to a minimum.

"We don't have the degree of crime that inner city has," he said. "Santa Clarita is a nice place to live."

The Pride Committee intends to keep it that way. Founded by residents before the city incorporated in 1987, the group has kept a watchful eye on vulnerable neighborhoods, striking quickly to eliminate graffiti.

The volunteers also take photos of the damage, reporting their findings to the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff's station, which calculates the cost of the damage.

If deputies are lucky enough to catch the vandals, they could be forced to pay restitution for the damage.

According to experienced volunteers, vandals tend to target walls and freeway overpasses in Canyon Country, while those in east Newhall seem to favor a three-block area between Pine and Market streets.

"It's sporadic," Tonoian said. "We see graffiti come and go."

Despite repeated vandalism that destroys their handiwork, volunteers said they make a difference each time they erase graffiti.

"The sooner it's removed, the better," Francoeur said. "The longer you leave it up there, the worse it gets. Plus, it looks unsightly."

For three-year volunteer Larry Withers, it's a simple matter of civic duty.

"You've got to give back," he said. "I'm getting a great place to live in return."

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