The town board approved the statement at its meeting Tuesday, July 14, and the village board signed onto to the same statement at its meeting Monday, July 20.

News of the graffiti, and the subsequent decision by Adirondack Diversity Initiative Director Nicole Hylton-Patterson to move out of Saranac Lake because she hasn’t felt safe there since it was found, reached a statewide audience last week after Gov. Andrew Cuomo released a statement condemning the graffiti and directing the New York State Police Hate Crimes Task Force to help village police find the perpetrator.

Part of the village of Saranac Lake, including the railroad bridge where the graffiti was found, lies within the town of North Elba’s boundaries. The graffiti included racial slurs, expletives and the phrase “Go back to Africa.”

The statement approved by the council mirrors a joint statement signed by Rep. Elise Stefanik, five state assembly members, three state senators, six town supervisors, one village mayor, state Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos, Adirondack Association of Towns and Villages President Matthew Simpson, Washington County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sam Hall and the Adirondack Park Local Government Review Board published in the Enterprise on Tuesday.

“The recent display of racism, hatred and intolerance in our regional community is deplorable and has no place in the Adirondack Park or anywhere in our world,” the statement reads. “When apprehended, the perpetrator, who acted under the cover and cowardice of darkness, should be punished to the greatest extent of the law.”

The statement goes on to say that while the graffiti painted in Saranac Lake doesn’t “speak for, and will not define, our Adirondack communities,” this incident should be an opportunity to “learn, educate and do better.”

“While those hateful words were quickly removed by a well-intentioned community member, we cannot let them fade from our consciousness. Instead, we must ask ourselves what more we can do to stop atrocities like this from ever happening again,” the statement says. “From our living rooms to our children’s classrooms, workplaces to athletic fields, community centers to online message boards, the time has come to recommit ourselves to doing more: More listening, more understanding, more mutual respect.”

Town Councilor Emily Politi said she’d like to work with the Adirondack Diversity Initiative and bring a representative from the organization to a town council meeting.

“I’d love to hear from them,” Councilor Richard Cummings said.

Saranac Lake police are investigating the graffiti in coordination with a hate crime specialist from the New York State Police, but as of Wednesday, July 22 they not announced any arrest.

Saranac Lake isn’t the only place in the North Country where racist graffiti was drawn recently. In Bloomingdale, four teenagers — two age 14, two age 15 — face charges in Family Court for allegedly spray-painting the phrase “N*****s stink!” and swastikas under a bridge on Oregon Plains Road over Sumner Brook. In Cadyville, the n-word was recently found written in white marker on a playground.