Jobs, Business Regs on Minds of Small Business Owners

More than 60 small business owners and civic leaders turned out for Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton’s Small Business Roundtable in Kinston on Friday, Oct. 16.

It was the seventh roundtable NFIB/North Carolina has held with Dalton since April.

“I’m very glad to know that the lieutenant governor is well aware of and is showing real concern for the critical issues that small business is dealing with in this area, particularly the issue of economic development,” said member David Albritton of The Albritton Co., a flooring and home furnishings business.

Some of the discussion focused on statewide issues, such as North Carolina’s new JOBS (Joining our Business and Schools) Commission. Dalton chairs the commission, which will explore how businesses and schools can work together to help students prepare for getting a job after graduation.

But much of the conversation was focused on Kinston and Lenoir County.

Pride of Kinston Director Adrian King, for example, asked how the state could help with the burdensome building codes and regulations that discourage small businesses redeveoloping older buildings. 

“There are many buildings in downtown of which the second and third floors cannot be used because of building codes,” he said.
 
The state can’t ease the rules required by the Americans with Disabilities Act, Dalton said, but ”as for the state building codes, we can certainly research and see if anything can be done to assist towns and small businesses in the redevelopment process.”