A long list of items that were vandalized during the first half of 2018 was presented to Keremeos council earlier this month.
Amongst the items was a $1,000 solar head from one of the trail lights only installed a couple of years ago.
“It’s disappointing. It’s almost $1,000 just for the solar heads. There are some people starting fires in garbage cans in the washrooms. In general vandalism costs everybody. It’s not something you can say ‘oh, it happens.’ It’s senseless and uncalled for and is a burden for residents in our community,” Mayor Manfred Bauer said after the meeting.
Other acts of vandalism included rocks and pine cones stuffed in toilets, graffiti on the walls and stalls and sprinkler tops kicked and broken.
On more than one occasion the vents in the doors and walls of the washroom were kicked out. A stall door and partition walls were damaged in the men’s washroom in Memorial Park.
There was also oily residue from cleaning drug paraphernalia smeared on washroom sinks and baby change tables. The residue is difficult to remove.
The public works staff at the village cleans up most of the vandalism in-house meaning they cannot do other work meaning the cost continues to escalate.
Anyone that witnesses an act of vandalism is encouraged to contact the RCMP.