Dear Editor,
A gas station is being constructed within Punta Gorda (PG) Town limits. The private property belongs to Augusto Mak, a resident and holder of other properties within Punta Gorda.

We do not know whether the builders complied with the following: a) submission of an application to the Punta Gorda Town Council; b) submission of an application to the Public Works Dept.; c) submission as well of an application or paperwork to the Ministry attending to gas stations; and d) the undertaking of a process to bury the tanks (as is required within the town limits).

When I built the Vernon’s Texaco Gas-Station 57 years ago in 1963 with my father,  I had to comply with the previous stipulations.

In 1970, my father, Hon. Sam Vernon, sold the property to Texaco. It is run to this day by Alistair King as manager.

I went further and built Vernon’s Esso Gas Station at The Dump, 14 miles from PG.  The original (Vernon’s Texaco) and (Vernon’s Esso ) are still going strong. The one in PG is UNO, run by the Texaco Corporation.

I forgot – for the pier (wharf) originally built by me in 1964, I had to apply to Public Works.

Alejandro Vernon, JP