Duane Hicks
The Town of Fort Frances has been working to revamp its business licence bylaw over the past year, and now businesses are welcome to pose questions and provide suggestions at an open house tomorrow (Aug. 24) from 4-6 p.m. at the Civic Centre.
Bylaw enforcement officer Patrick Briere said he, town clerk Lisa Slomke, and a working group have come up with an rewritten version which should be easier for everyone to understand.
“The biggest change to the new draft bylaw we’re proposing to the public would be that we’re a little bit more defined,” he remarked.
“We’ve defined actual categories and requirements within those categories, and we’ve kind of opened it up to be more transparent.
“It allows the applicants who are applying to operate a business the opportunity to actually read and find exactly what they need,” added Briere.
“When they come in to see us, they’ll have the right documentation or be in the ballpark to getting the right documentation.
“The previous bylaw wasn’t worded very well,” Briere said. “We did a lot of interpreting between applicants that were in with us, discussing the current the bylaw.
“With this one, we want it to be more open, more clear, more concise as to what we’re actually looking for and why we are,” he stressed.
Briere said tomorrow’s open house is “an opportunity for anybody who’s currently licensed or wants to be licensed to do business in the town” to have a conversation with him or Slomke, as well as ask questions about the draft bylaw in general or anything specific to their own business.
He noted all of the criteria and requirements in the draft bylaw were in the previous bylaw.
It’s just that in the previous bylaw, one had to “go through it with a fine-tooth comb and understand how to interpret the old bylaw,” Briere explained.
Slomke said it’s clear businesses are interested in the draft bylaw—and hopes for a good turnout at the open house.
“We have received lots of phone calls from people, and we’ve had e-mail messages from people looking for clarification,” she noted.
“So many of them have already obtained the clarification they need and they’re happy with what we’ve already done.
“There are some who don’t have all of the information,” added Slomke. “Hopefully, those are the ones that come out.
“We’d like to alleviate some of their concerns and answer questions for them,” she stressed.
“That’s what we’re here to do and that’s why we’re having the open house.”
Briere said if business owners have any concerns or suggestions about the new business licensing bylaw, they’re welcome to propose them.
He added the working group will review them before the final version of the bylaw is put before town council.
Briere noted town staff is in the midst of revising various bylaws, and is striving to ask the public for comments more than the town has in the recent past.
The public is invited to attend and offer input.
The draft business bylaw document is available online at www.fort-frances.com
