Just one week before the Arts in Black Festival at Fulwood Park, gang members covered four areas of the park in graffiti leaving a big mess for park personnel to clean.

Billy Trevena, park caretaker, found the vandalism on Sunday morning. The stage area was covered with graffiti that was spraypainted in blue and black. The vandals also spraypainted in the new men’s restroom, the old men’s restroom and in back of the maintenance building.

“SUR 13 did this,” said Trevena. He said rival gangs, one on the north side, and one on the south side, are primarily responsible for all the graffiti.

“It will take about three coats of paint to get this covered up,” Trevena said.

The restrooms are on an automatic timed-lock system. They unlock at 7 a.m. and lock at 8 p.m. “We would have to have someone here all the time to prevent problems in the bathrooms,” Trevena said.

Trevena said the city is getting ready to remodel the older restroom near the main entrance to the park. New stalls will be put in and the roof will be sealed to keep out the bats.

“It’s discouraging,” Trevena said of the graffiti. He said he filed a police report with the TPD on Sunday.

To contact reporter Jana Cone, call 382-4321, ext. 208.