A proposed idea to paint mini-murals on a total of six utility boxes and water pump covers located on the ranch side of Christmas Hill Park in the heart of Gilroy received approval during the Aug. 28 Public Art Committee meeting.
Graffiti Abatement Officer Rachel Munoz with the Gilroy Police Department spoke during the meeting about how successful the 2011 project of painting mini-murals on 14 traffic signal boxes around town has been in reducing graffiti and deterring habitual taggers.
“Only one signal box out of the 14 has been touched again, proving that the murals discourage the defacement of public property,” Munoz said.
Due to the increase in foot traffic on the northeast side of the Christmas Hill Park levee, Munoz said she’s seen more markings from Sharpie permanent markers on the utility boxes, which she presumes have been made by students walking home from school.
“The idea is to enhance blemished boxes with colorful works of art,” Munoz said. “We want to paint the three sets of two along the walking trail as a pilot project to see how it will work out.”
The mini-murals will cost approximately $350 per set and will be painted by Stacey Angst, a local artist and volunteer for “Wipe Out Watch,” a group of approximately 40 volunteers who help in the efforts of graffiti abatement and surveillance.
Funding for the project will come from the graffiti fundraising account’s various donations, according to Munoz.
Angst will coordinate with City of Gilroy paint contractor Tim Collins of Personal Impressions to prepare the boxes with a plain gray canvas so she can start her paintings on clean slates.
Once approved by the Arts and Culture Commission and City Council, Angst anticipates starting the mini-murals towards the middle to end of September.
“There are different designs for each of the six pump boxes,” Angst said. “They stick to the themes of sports, garlic bulbs and nature.”
Angst predicts it will take her approximately two full days to paint each box. The project will most likely be completed over a two-month span of time, she said.
“I think it would be a good idea to have Stacey paint a few and then we see how park-goers digest the change,” Munoz said. “The goal would be to have it done by maybe November.”
Upon Angst’s completion of the murals, Collins will place sealants over the boxes to protect them from weather damage. Munoz said Collins has extensive experience with the City’s murals, as he has been involved with the last 14 traffic signal box murals as well as large murals located along the walking pathways of Third Street and Santa Teresa Boulevard and at W. Luchessa Avenue, which had previously been highly targeted areas.
“It should be noted that all new existing murals have experienced minimal to no graffiti,” Munoz said.
