DENVER -- The Denver Graffiti Task Force heard from city residents Thursday as part of its effort to address the city's growing graffiti problem.

The task force has been charged by Mayor John Hickenlooper with coming up with solutions to keep teenagers from getting involved with vandalism, speeding up graffiti cleanup and holding taggers accountable.

"There's an opportunity for us to do a lot of things to prevent, and abate and to enforce," said task force co-chair Regina Huerter, "And a lot of it has to do with citizens."

Graffiti continues to plague businesses all across Denver. A Napa auto parts store on Federal Boulevard is tagged three to five times a week, depending on how often the graffiti is erased. Thus, a city cleanup crew is a regular visitor to the store.

"We supply the paint cause it's our specific color, and then they repaint it, and then we just wait for the next one," said Bruce Buckley, the store's assistant manager.

Buckley said he wishes the taggers' creative talents could be put to better use.

"If we could find out who these guys are," he said, "we'd say 'look, have you ever considered artwork? We'll send you to school. Just quit spraying the darned building.'"

Thursday's public meeting at Police District 1 Headquarters will be followed by another task force meeting in May. The group said it hopes to forward its final recommendations to the City Council and the mayor this summer.