Graffiti vandalism mars newly opened Ephrata Sports Complex

EPHRATA — Less than a month after city leaders celebrated the opening of new pickleball courts at the Ephrata Sports Complex, vandals covered portions of the facility with graffiti, prompting a cleanup effort by city staff and an ongoing police investigation.

The graffiti was reported Tuesday afternoon, according to Interim Ephrata Police Chief Troy Froewiss. Investigators have identified a vehicle believed to be connected to the incident but had not located it as of Tuesday afternoon.

“We know what car we are looking for,” Froewiss said. 

He said no further information is currently available to the public, as the investigation into the incident is ongoing. 

According to City Clerk Rob Miller, graffiti covered the futsal and basketball court area.

“The vandalism was pretty extensive,” Miller said. “It covered the majority of the unfinished portion of the mound where the futsal courts and basketball courts are intended to be in the next phase of that project.”

Despite the damage, city public works crews spent hours pressure-washing the facility and were able to remove the majority of the graffiti. The vandals did not damage the new pickleball courts. 

“There's some residual staining on the main part of the cement still,” Miller said. “On the plus side, a lot of that should get resurfaced, similar to how the pickleball court was. So, that might cover up some of it, but had this been on the actual pickleball courts, it would have been a really expensive thing to have those redone.”

The vandalism comes just weeks after the city held an Oct. 2 ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the opening of the new pickleball courts at the complex.

Miller said the incident was particularly frustrating because it targeted a project intended to benefit both residents and visitors.

“This is something that we're putting together to try and draw visitors to the community, but also, and more importantly, get people to come in right here in town where they live and be able to enjoy pickleball and futsal and basketball and all that kind of thing," Miller said.

He said cleaning up the graffiti required city employees to divert time and resources from other maintenance projects.

“The time that was spent cleaning up the mess that was left behind by the folks that vandalized it could have been spent patching another hole in a road,” Miller said. “It ended up becoming a priority to maintain the new thing that we just spent a lot of money on.”

The city announced on social media that it intends to pursue charges against those responsible.

For Froewiss, the incident serves as a reminder that vandalism has consequences beyond what some may view as a harmless prank.

“Number one, it's a crime,” Froewiss said. “But number two, it affects the whole community. Someone owns that piece of property. Someone has to spend time cleaning it, fixing it, replacing it. That stuff usually costs money, and if it's city property or government property, it costs all the taxpayers money.”

City officials also encouraged parents to help prevent similar incidents by securing spray paint and remaining involved in their children's activities.

“Be involved with your children,” Miller said. “Talk to them about things like this. Make sure that you know where they're at, what they're doing, and then keep them occupied with something that's productive and healthy.”

In response to the incident, Miller said the city plans to continue expanding security camera coverage at recreational facilities.

“We are intending to continue to add more security cameras to our recreational facilities, just to make sure that folks are safe and that we can track down the folks who vandalize our facilities,” he said.

Anyone with information about the vandalism is encouraged to contact the Ephrata Police Department at 509-754-2491.

    The City of Ephrata Public Works staff spent Tuesday afternoon power-washing the Ephrata Sports Complex after a group of vandals covered a portion of the facility in graffiti. The staff was able to remove most of the damage with some residual staining left.