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Organisers of Events not Approved by The KSAC to be Sanctioned – Mayor Mckenzie

February 10, 2005

The Full Story

Mayor of Kingston, Councillor Desmond McKenzie has said that the Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) would take action against the organizers and sponsors of events which were being held in the corporate area without the requisite approval.
Mr. McKenzie disclosed that the KSAC had written to several companies, requesting that they “disassociate” themselves from any form of promotion within the city, for events that had failed to secure the approval of the Council.
He was speaking at yesterday’s (February 8) monthly press briefing at the KSAC’s Church Street offices in Downtown, Kingston.
Mr. McKenzie noted some instances of major stage shows being hosted, where “some well known companies are sponsors who put up hundreds of thousands of dollars supporting these shows and are not aware that a number of these shows have not had requisite approval from the KSAC”.
Consequently, the Mayor informed, at least 30 companies had been sent warning letters. He cautioned that any business linking itself to events that had not been given the go-ahead by the KSAC could face being penalised.
“What we intend to do is that any company that associate themselves with these events, we will advise the public by virtue of publishing their names, these events, and police will be given a list of all these events,” Mayor McKenzie said.
Speaking further, he added that the matter of billboards advertising events, illegally, was an issue of serious concern for the Council. He said the matter was further compounded by the fact that there were cases where boards remained intact even months after an event had passed.
“A lot of boards across the corporate area are still up with the names of some reputable companies on them and these events have been concluded from December.some way back in November,” he said.
Mr. McKenzie explained that the importance of organizers securing approval from the KSAC for events was important as it, among other things, took into consideration issues of public health and fire safety.
Turning to the matter of venues in the corporate area operating without amusement licenses, Mayor McKenzie said the KSAC was prepared to publish a list of operators delinquent in their payments. He said, “effective this weekend, we will be moving against these locations.” The Mayor indicated that several of the venues included popular eateries and bars, and said that when contacted by the KSAC and advised of outstanding fees by the Council’s officers, “they have slammed down the telephone in the ears of our officers and treated our officers with contempt.”
Mayor McKenzie stressed that tough action would be taken in light of the indifference the businesses had shown in regard to their license obligations. “We cannot continue like this, and every month I will make public the list,” he said, adding that, “we are forced to take this position because many of these people who operate ignore the KSAC”.

Last Updated: February 10, 2005

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