The incident occurred between the hours of 3:30 a.m. and 5 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 28.
“Some individuals gained access to the fenced enclosure there at the pump house and the water tank, and basically ‘tagged’ the building and the water tank with quite a great deal of graffiti,” Fire Chief James Robinson said. “They broke some locks that held an access ladder, and caused quite a bit of property destruction and vandalism.
“We’ve communicated with police and there’s an ongoing investigation, and both myself and the chief of police (Bobby Breed) feel that the offer of a reward would stimulate somebody to come forward and produce us a suspect to pursue conviction for those damages.”
During a pre-meeting work session, Robinson and Breed both said they believed the graffiti to be the work of youths and likely not related to any gang activity.
“There were some gang-related stuff (on the water tower),” Robinson said. “Some of it was conflicting, though, like they were trying to make it look like it was a gang.”
Mayor Joe Lee further instructed Breed to talk to the department’s Student Resource Officers at each school, in the hopes that they might be able to investigate a little more.
In other business, the council:
• Approved the renewal of options on property that had previously been designated for commercial development.
• Approved the appointments of Sandi Nicholson and Donna Turner to the St. Clair Mental Retardation/Developmental Disability Board.
• Approved the recommendation of police chief Bobby Breed to surplus a 1997 Chevrolet Blazer.
• Approved $900 to purchase asphalt for road repair in Avalon Arbors.
• Approved $273.07 for repairs to a truck belonging to the public works department.
• Approved purchase of two sets of tires for the police department, at a total cost of $697.36.
• Approved a lease/purchase agreement for a new copier with fax and networking capabilities for the police department.
• Approved payment of the $1,000 deductible for insurance to replace the motor in a police vehicle that sustained water damage.
