GENEVA – The fire hydrant painted in Pride colors at the northwest corner of Kirk Road and East State Street in Geneva was vandalized again, this time spray-painted yellow.

The vandal or vandals also painted an anti LGBTQ+ slur into the grass next to the hydrant, said Kylie Peters, a co-founder of Belong: Fox Valley.

She and a group of supporters primed the hydrant on Friday evening and repainted it in rainbow and transgender colors on Saturday.

“Every time this happens, we gather together to repaint and celebrate ourselves,” Peters wrote in a text.

“People give their time, money, supplies and messages of support. We form connections, share stories, and lift each other up,” according to Peters’ text. “I hope the vandals know that this is the result of their statement of hate: an even stronger, more united local LGBTQIA+ community.”

The hydrant was vandalized was in March, after a six-month reprieve.

Mayor Kevin Burns started the Art on Fire program in 2013, offering the city’s 1,860 hydrants as canvasses.

“It’s disappointing that a program created to inspire creativity and produce joy continues to be defiled by intellectually bereft, bigoted and diminutive ideologues,” Burns said of the repeated vandalism to the pride-painted hydrant.

“A coat of paint may temporarily hide the colors of inclusion but it will never stop Geneva from creating a more open, understanding, accepting and respectful community where people can be and become their authentic selves,” Burns said.

Last year, artist Chrissy Swanson had painted the rainbow and transgender flag colors on the hydrant at the northwest corner of Kirk Road and East State Street last year as part of the city’s Art on Fire Program.

Johnson said she finished painting the hydrant June 23, 2022, and the vandalism began in July.

In all, Johnson said, this makes it the 12th time that the hydrant was vandalized and repainted.

“This past time when it was defaced, it was on Friday. I drove past at 8:30 in the morning and by 10 a.m., it was painted yellow,” Johnson said.

Johnson said she was told in an email in May that the city did not have the resources to administer the Art on Fire program in 2023.

“I’m disappointed they discontinued the program,” Johnson said. “I feel like it has let the haters – the vandals – win.”

But Burns said it isn’t being discontinued.

“The Art on Fire program is not being discontinued, it’s merely being recalibrated so as to be less of a burden on our administrative staff,” Burns said.

Art on Fire does not mandate a specific theme, “but the program encourages artists to incorporate the character of the hydrant’s surrounding environment into their design,” according to an August 2013 news release announcing the program.

“City staff will review and approve all application submissions,” according to the release. “Camouflage or other colors and designs that lower the visibility of the fire hydrants for firefighters will be prohibited.”

“Art on Fire was created to spark creativity among our citizens and businesses and foster a greater appreciation for art in general,” Burns had said in a text at the time. “Art that is accessible and conspicuous is art that ultimately engages the young and the old alike.”

Art on Fire was also a competition, where the Public Art Advisory Committee, Cultural Arts Commission, International Cultural Exchange Committee and friends from Croissy-sur-Seine vote on the top three designs, and those artists would be awarded gift certificates in a ceremony during a City Council meeting.

A Plainfield man was charged with two counts of misdemeanor defacement of property in connection with the July 8, 2022, vandalism of the pride painted hydrant, court records show. Jonathan D. Darmstadt pleaded guilty to one count in January and had to pay $928.38 in fines and restitution. Darmstadt was also sentenced to 12 months of supervision until Jan. 22, 2024, court records show.