THE EDITOR, Sir:

I RECEIVED a frantic call from one of our clients on Saturday last, stating that the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) was in the process of removing one of our neighbourhood signs along Shortwood Road, presumably as part of the mayor's promise to rid the city of what he considers to be "illegal" signs. Added to that, your story in Monday's Gleaner quotes the mayor, in going on the offensive, stating that the KSAC "has teeth" and is "going to bite".

I must remind the mayor and his staff at the KSAC of some pertinent facts which will help to put this matter in perspective, at least as relating to signs from our company.

Approximately three years ago, at a time when all dues relating to our neighbourhood signs were fully paid up with the KSAC, the vast majority of these signs were removed by another arm of Government: the National Works Agency (NWA), who claimed that they - not the KSAC - were responsible for granting permission for such signs to be erected along major thoroughfares. At that time, a number of our 'legally erected' signs (according to the KSAC) - worth just under a million dollars - were unceremoniously chopped down and thrown into dump trucks.

Refund request ignored

In light of the fact that the KSAC had, for years, been collecting all relevant dues from us, and that we were fully paid up at the time with them, I wrote the relevant personnel at the KSAC, seeking clarification on the matter, only to be advised that I should "sue the NWA". Subsequent correspondence from our attorneys addressed to the KSAC regarding this matter in which we requested, among other things, a refund of dues paid to them for that particular year, were seemingly ignored, as we are yet to receive any response whatsoever.

In light of the above, could the mayor, in all honesty, expect companies like ourselves to continue paying the KSAC for 'permission' to erect these signs when the very question of which government agency has the authority to grant such 'permission' remains, to the best of our knowledge, unanswered and/or unresolved? Were we to have continued to pay our dues as requested by the KSAC, what protection were they prepared to offer us from the NWA - and any other entity for that matter - other than the cavalier and irresponsible advice that we should "sue them"?

Who has responsibility?

Having paid all dues at the time, didn't the mayor and his staff have the responsibility to protect us from this other arm of Government as they were being paid to do, or to themselves initiate legal action against any party who had dared to remove signs that they (the KSAC) had granted permission to be erected?

The issue of which government agency truly has such responsibility is what needs to be answered. At that time, the respective agency had every right to demand that all companies abide by the laws pertaining to the erection of such signs as we at KingAlarm were very happy to have done prior to the power struggle on this issue between the KSAC and the NWA. Until then, the mayor has a responsibility to tell the whole story on this issue before he goes out trying to sully the reputation of law-abiding companies such as ours, who have admittedly withheld payment based on good business judgement in light of the situation described. In the interim, the goodly mayor should focus his attention on cleaning up his own mess at the KSAC!

I am, etc.,

JOHN P. AZAR

Managing Director

KingAlarm Systems

1 Caledonia Avenue

Kingston 5