Mountain Cemetery defaced with graffiti

Larry Seaton has been to the top of Kilimanjaro, Aconcagua and Denali – and two more of the highest peaks of the Earth’s seven continents. The 69-year-old Napa native hikes almost every day, either at the Napa Skyline Wilderness Park or, when he’s in Sonoma, the Overlook Trail or Montini Preserve.

“Hiking is good exercise,” said the construction management consultant. “It’s better than walking.”

But last Sunday, as he began his hike from the West First Street trailhead of the Overlook Trail, something caught his eye – some spray-painted graffiti on top of a columbarium, at Mountain Cemetery. “I had never seen it before, and I was curious how whoever got up on the roof to paint it — then I saw the rest of it.”

He took several photos with his iPhone and forwarded them to city and county law enforcement, and the Sonoma City Council. “My initial reaction was one of shock, then disbelief followed by anger,” said Seaton. “And then, I thought, this needs to be cleaned up ASAP.”

The images were disturbing, appearing to show recent spray-paint activity by an individual or group, and the reaction was almost universal.

“It’s very disturbing,” said Veronica Napoles, an artist and member of the City of Sonoma Fine Arts Commission. She’s been battling graffiti in her Springs neighborhood for years, and has learned two things: Send pictures to the police, and clean it up immediately.

“What’s going to be needed is a whole group of people getting together with lots of rags,” she said. She recommended a product available at paint stores called Klean-Strip Pro-Strength Graffiti Removal, from Goof-Off. Napoles said she carries it in her car, along with gloves and rags. “It’s great, this stuff really works.”

On Monday morning, the day after Seaton sent his photos to the city Public Works department, department head Colleen Ferguson and interim city manager David Kiff went to the Mountain Cemetery to take stock. “Yes, it is pretty awful. I went out there with Director Ferguson this morning to see it. Part of it was being cleaned as we were there by the Public Works staff,” he said. Cleanup efforts began with pressure washing and what isn’t removed that way will need to be painted over.

Though the cemetery is City of Sonoma property and the city is ultimately responsible for cleaning up the damage, other community efforts to tackle the problem of graffiti have long been attempted. Kiff, Ferguson and Mayor Logan Harvey have discussed a program bringing in volunteers to help clean up the scene. “(It is) an opportunity to pull the Sonoma community together to repair the physical and emotional damage of this,” Kiff said.

When some city officials who received Seaton’s email posted the images on Facebook, the reaction was strong.

“So mad about it,” said Jennifer Gray Thompson, the executive director at Rebuild North Bay Foundation who, like Napoles, carries a graffiti-removal kit in her car. “I can assure you this is the work of local young people. And every parent should be asking their kids who did this desecration.”

Some wondered if the eruption of vandalism in the Valley is partly due to the pandemic.

“We’ve all been affected by COVID and a lack of things to do, but this is not a good outlet, this is an unacceptable way to express that frustration,” said Harvey.

“Because we’ve been hunkered down during COVID, taggers have gone to town,” said Napoles. She said the construction crews working at the Boyes Boulevard Bridge have been “badgered” by tagging until they put their work signage behind a fence. “There are people, i.e. teenagers, who have a lot of time on their hands. That’s a bad combination.”

Sonoma County used to have a Graffiti Abatement Task force, with a number to call to report such vandalism. That task force was shut down in 2018 due to lack of funding. The non-emergency number with the Sheriff’s Office can still take calls reporting graffiti (565-2121) and the Sheriff’s Office recommends contacting the district supervisors to ask about re-instating the program.

“Sadly, the graffiti abatement services were defunded years ago due to budget crunches,” said 1st District Supervisor Susan Gorin. She added that “property owners are expected to clean up the graffiti within 24 hours or as quickly as possible,” and that includes government entities.

“The only thing that deters them is removing the graffiti as quickly as possible, where possible,” said Napoles. She also recommended putting up cameras, saying that $250 of Ring cameras would be a relatively inexpensive surveillance system to catch future vandals.

Harvey, however, said he would have to learn more about the infrastructure of the cemetery,

Even with a government program, however, monitoring graffiti and cleaning it up has often come down to the community. Some local projects have had success in managing the problem. “We have cleaned the El Verano playground and a wall on Riverside but COVID has all but killed the graffiti abatement,” said Creekside High School teacher Walt Williams. “That said, I'm sure I can find willing students if the city needs help in the cleanup.”

Seaton, the mountaineer and contractor who reported the graffiti storm, said he has a “particular affection” for cemeteries which began when he was in the Army. “In 1970-71, I served as a guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery. I am still connected to the tomb through the Society of the Honor Guard, Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.”

By Monday afternoon the city’s Public Works department had successfully removed much of the lettering from the columbarium wall, but much more on the back walls “would be more effectively accomplished using paint,” said Ferguson in an email to the Index-Tribune. “Predicted rainstorms will delay that work for a while.”

The mayor, like most others, was disturbed by the event. “This is sacred ground. This is where people’s families are buried.” He predicted the issue would soon come before the city council.

Email Christian at christian.kallen@sonomanews.com.