No mo’ Ho Town: Residents fight back against vandalism

by SEAN KIMMONS

Vandals have changed the entrance signs to the Hometown Kyle subdivision to a derogatory phrase. (Photo by Sean Kimmons)

Vandals, believed to be local teenagers, have caused thousands of dollars in damage to the Hometown Kyle subdivision in the past two years and irked local residents by changing the name on the neighborhood’s entrance sign into a rude phrase.

“This has really got everyone riled up,” said Gary Anderson, president of the subdivision’s homeowners association.

Regularly, vandals pry off letters to entrance signs, changing Hometown to Ho town, as well as tipping over trash cans. On Jan. 16, the vandals struck again, Anderson said.

“They tagged fences, sidewalks, mailboxes and stop signs,” he said. “It was quite ugly.”

It cost about $2,500 to clean up the graffiti, mostly profanity, in the neighborhood of more than 600 homes, he said.

In response, Anderson said that the subdivision will be setting up a neighborhood watch program. He has just signed on two co-chairmen for the program, one of whom is affiliated with the Austin Police Department. The subdivision also has 19 police officers who call it home, he said.

On top of that, the subdivision plans to install a 10-camera surveillance system, keeping a close eye on common areas and entrance gates. The system, costing $60,000 to $75,000, will allow residents to go to a website and tap in on live feeds from the cameras, he said.

“We’re going to aggressively prosecute all violators,” he said.