Town: graffiti goes, Blair House stays

By Allison Brophy Champion

Published: January 7, 2009

Culpeper Town Council continues to move toward a tougher stance on the prompt removal of gang graffiti from any property in town, private or otherwise.

At the same time, it appears to be in no rush to remove an 85-year-old house the town owns on West Street in order to widen the road, considering the poor economy and the potential black history associated with the modest two-story dwelling.

At its meeting Tuesday night, the Town Council Finance & Ordinance Committee supported the Public Safety Committee’s recent recommendation that Police Chief Scott Barlow and Town Attorney Bob Bendall develop a new law that, if adopted, would require private property owners to eradicate gang graffiti from their property within a reasonable amount of time, or pay the town to do it for them.

“We are seeing this type of graffiti on the rise in this community,” Barlow said, “so we need to do this.”

If unchecked, gang graffiti multiplies, he added, and yet lacking legal ability, police can do nothing about it. Barlow mentioned the recent case of the Chicago-based Gangster Disciples graffiti on a gas utility building across from Yowell Meadow Skate Park. It took six months for the company to remove it, he said, referencing “one or two cases” besides.

Town Councilman Jim Risner agreed, saying it’s “a public safety issue.”

“Unfortunately, we don’t always have responsible property owners,” he said.

But Vice Mayor Billy Yowell, always outspoken against “government getting bigger and bigger,” didn’t know if the graffiti problem was big enough to warrant the creation of a new town law.

“Are we having a huge problem with this?” he asked. “Do we need to create an ordinance for one or two cases?”

Ultimately, the committee directed Barlow to begin developing the gang graffiti law; council will officially vote on the matter in the near future. 

As for the Blair House on West Street, it’s staying put for now.

The Finance Committee recommended Tuesday that the town reject a bid from local contractor Richard Dwyer to move the circa-1924 house to a piece of property he owns on the north end of town.
Dwyer would charge the town about $38,000 for the job.

“We think that is rather high,” said Town Manager Jeff Muzzy Tuesday. “And with the state of things, I don’t think we will be expanding (the road at that location) anytime in the near future.”
The matter of the Blair House – so named for its connection to the first pastor at Antioch Baptist Church, an African-American congregation directly across the street – goes back before Town Council at its meeting Tuesday. The Public Works Committee also recently recommended that Dwyer’s bid be rejected.