West Bountiful City and Reagan Outdoor advertising are again facing each other over the denial of a few more signs.

The last time the ad agency faced off against the city, it was over the size, location, height, and number of signs where the Texas Roadhouse is now.

They received one billboard, some 55 feet off the ground and towering over the Texas Roadhouse restaurant.

Any idea what’s on either side of the billboard? Me neither.

But for all the reasons people can think of as to why having billboard signs is a bad thing, we should first focus on what the good qualities are to having a well-placed billboard in a particular area.

Billboards are there to advertise something, that is a given. Some billboard signs are a positive for area businesses, offering such information as the location, what services are rendered and how to get in touch with that particular business.

Some billboards are informative, while others remind passers by that maybe they need to take a step back and take off somewhere...say Lagoon, Wendover, or Mesquite.

These types of billboard signs are a positive to the people driving up and down the Interstate or just in a rural road somewhere.

Other billboard signs, however, have little to offer and don’t say anything informative to the motorist whatsoever. Examples of these signs can be labeled with such messages at “Got Snot,” “ahem,” or the one that I drive by every day to work that says “We Suck...Fat!” (while informative, it leaves itself open for other interpretations by having the “...”placed between two somewhat derogatory words).

Other signs have the misfortune of becoming targets of vandalism. Take the recently talked about sign with the Utah Highway Patrol officer-looking mannequin hanging over the billboard that reads “I’m watching you, drunk driver.” While the message is clear, the mannequin has been vandalized so many times that UHP simply decided to take him down.

Another example has a monster-sized vehicle protruding from another sign advertising an auto dealer. The vehicle has been spray painted so many times it’s hard to make out the model anymore.

The point is this: If the billboard’s sign serves a good purpose, keep it. If the sign is everything short of distasteful, take it down.

I understand that it costs money to put up, take down and make general upkeep on any individual sign. However, there shouldn’t be so many of them that they become an eyesore even to drivers passing by.

And by all means, keep the messages clean. Asking me if I “Got Snot” on my way to work at 7 a.m. isn’t exactly what I want to think about for the rest of the day.

sgillet@davisclipper.com