Tagging is a new problem Enhance La Jolla Maintenance Assessment District is contending with in fulfilling its mission of cleansing and beautifying the Village.
“We’ve got a tagger in town degrading things with graffiti,” John Unbewust, Enhance La Jolla district manager, told La Jolla Village Merchants Association in March. “We’re asking, if you see graffiti in the Village, report it and work with the owners of the property or the trash can that’s been tagged to remove it.”
Added Unbewust, “My thought is that it is one particular individual doing the tagging, as it always happens at night. We’re looking at what we can do to get on this situation, reacting to it as quickly as possible.”
In operation since October 2019, the La Jolla MAD issued its February report on ongoing clean-up operations. In that report, the MAD noted a second power washing was completed of Village sidewalks on Prospect, Girard, and Wall.
Enhance La Jolla also finished its three-week landscape maintenance cycle, along with performing its daily duties, which include litter control.
Unbewust updated La Jolla business owners on the scope of community enhancements.
“We’re improving tree wells and cleaning them up, which is improving the visual effect of walking down the street,” Unbewust said. “We’re continuing to change out all 40 to 50 trash receptacles, which are in various stages of disrepair.”
Thirty-six trash receptacles have thus far been painted, and repainting the remainder is scheduled soon.
On a more artistic note, Unbewust pointed out a new Village project is being done to further enhance the look and feel of the Village.
“We’re going to paint every one of the 12 SDG&E transformer boxes, many of which are rusted,” he said.
La Jolla’s MAD has contacted SDG&E and will coordinate with them to provide paint and direction for a MAD vendor to paint all dozen transformer boxes and protective steel bollards. Work was expected to begin on March 18.
In another community beautification project, Unbewust said work crews will be “doing refinishing of wood benches in the Village. We’ve got a contractor still working on the final details.”
Bench refinishing was expected to commence April 1.
The MAD district manager noted there are 25 to 30 benches along Girard, Wall, and Prospect. Refinishing those, Unbewust said, “will make significant improvements to what people see in the Village in terms of a little softer, cleaner and nicer look than we’ve seen in the past.”
The power washing cycle of cleansing Village sidewalks will now be done more frequently, every three months. “Before the summer tourism season kicks off, we’ll be doing power washing more frequently, every two months, even doing it on a spot basis,” Unbewust said.
