Town Works to Improve Business Climate

The town’s business climate is warming. But there is still work to be done to improve the perception that Grafton is not receptive to business.

Those were the themes running through a forum held tonight at the to discuss ways the town can better work with and communicate to businesses.

The forum was the latest in a series of meetings held to address concerns raised by some current and potential business owners that Grafton was unfriendly to business.  At this forum, town officials who are charged with issuing permits answered questions from the audience.

Grafton tends to “go by the book’’ when enforcing regulations, said Elias Hanna of the town’s Economic Development Commission. Other towns, he said, are “more liberal’’ in their interpretations and are more willing to bend and use “common sense,’’ he said.

He said he has heard complaints about the town’s rigid approach “not from one person, not from 10 people, but from 50 people.’’

Town officials who oversee the permitting process said that they must enforce regulations that are mandated by the state and are subject to frequent changes.

“Regulations seem to come fast and furious,’’ said Town Planner Stephen Bishop, and that can create “an unwieldy system.’’

But he said the town has “heard and recognized’’ the frustrations of business owners.

 “We need to be more user-friendly,’’ Bishop said.

One issue that can create problems, health agent Lois Luniewicz said, was that different agencies have different standards when issuing permits.

Plans for a restaurant, she cited by example, may meet building standards enforced by building inspector Robert Berger but may not be acceptable from a health perspective.

And sometimes, she may not have seen the plans that have already been approved by another department, she said.

This underscores the importance of “keeping communication open between departments,’’ Berger said.

“We have to come up with a way for all of us to get plans’’ so they can be reviewed in “a timely manner,’’  Luniewicz said.

Town Administrator Timothy McInerney hosts weekly meetings of  town departments involved in the process to ensure they are on the same page.

He also said he often “eavesdrops’’ on phone and in-person conversations between his employees and the general public.

He said he has heard complaints about the town’s lack of cooperation with businesses, and takes them seriously, but that he has not heard this in the conversations he has monitored.

He said he “keeps coaching'' employees about the importance of how customers are approached. He said he stressed the importance of extending a welcoming approach before explaining and enforcing regulations.

Rules have to be enforced, he said, but “it’s how you tell them that makes all the difference in the world.’’