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Record of Proceedings

Wilmington MSD Committee Meeting Summary – May 19, 2022

Board of Adjustment — Thursday, May 19, 2022

BodyWilmington, North Carolina

SessionBoard of Adjustment

DateThursday, May 19, 2022

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 35:28

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:00

Back in full swing and with a Z when everything coming up or and the concerts.

0:04

We're we're gearing up for hopefully some fun times.

0:15

When do you anticipate making that presentation to city council?

0:18

He did not say, uh he just said in the next few weeks.

0:22

That's all he told me.

0:26

All right.

0:27

Thank you.

0:27

Uh we we uh we'll look forward to your presentation to this to city council and to us.

0:34

Yes, sir.

0:36

Thank you.

0:39

Any other questions for Lieutenant Nichols?

0:42

I'd just like to add uh thank the Wilmington Police Department to begin of the participation in the outreach program.

0:50

I think it's really important movement.

0:51

And thank you for that.

0:53

Yes, sir.

0:58

All right, we'll move on to report from uh WDI.

1:02

Pauly.

1:03

Sure.

1:03

Yeah, we uh just wanted to again put in a plug for our micro loan program.

1:07

Uh we do have several more loans in the hopper now.

1:11

We've closed on six of those.

1:13

We could do uh another 10 to 15 um loans within the program.

1:19

So um, you know, please be sure and let businesses know as you talk to folks within your network about that availability of funds up to 20,000 right now, currently at 2.44%, but interest rates are rising.

1:31

So um, so we would like for people to get in and take advantage of that.

1:35

Um, secondly, just want to thank uh Lieutenant Nicholson I know you you mentioned this this morning too about the uh partnership with with Jack and with the street outreach and the ambassadors.

1:45

So we're very excited about um the work that he's doing that Jack has been able to do, and um you know, I think that was reflected his some of his good work in this month's report.

1:55

So the report that Veronica sends out the last couple of pages were actually um specifically talking about some of the um individuals that Jack had interacted with and reached out to.

2:06

He's touching 300 people, you know, having interactions with 300 different um, you know, not different folks, but 300 different interactions a month.

2:15

Um, you know, about he's pretty consistent that he is um that he is interacting with in some way, helping them get to services, helping them get to showers, helping them get their medications, whatever it is that they they may need.

2:29

So we're really um thankful for his work and his impact.

2:33

And I'm especially um glad to hear that things are going so well um in his partnership with the with the police.

2:40

That's that's great for us to hear.

2:41

So anything else that we can do on that front, please let us know.

2:45

Um, I also wanted to turn things over to Christina.

2:48

She and Nancy had had uh sent an email about this a little earlier.

2:52

She wanted to report on PEER, the company we've been working with on developing the uh software platform for business retention expansion in the downtown within the MSD.

3:03

And so I'm gonna let her take it away with a little um she's got a little demo of that program.

3:11

All right, uh if um I could share my screen, that would be helpful.

3:21

You should be able to now.

3:28

All right, can everybody see?

3:30

You should see a screen that says business data.

3:34

All right.

3:35

Well, um, let me show you the front end first.

3:37

This is what we have been working with um through here, um, formerly barely.

3:43

Uh they have uh developed a front-end platform to the program that I think looks really nice.

3:49

It's uh they got the MSD logo and all the different districts.

3:53

Um, we will be starting with, of course, the MSD area, which would be the central business district, and uh and later moving to the Brooklyn Arts district.

4:04

Um, but they have uh set aside different sections of this technology to show different jobs by industry, jobs by industry breakdown, job growth uh projections, um, jobs by type.

4:19

So this is really a great program where we can really outline um data and good graphs and things that we could use to share with our with our city council members, or you know, help help affect some policy changes um in the future if we need to.

4:35

Um, we have other portions.

4:37

We have a business.

4:38

Oh, excuse me.

4:39

Sorry, it takes a little bit to load here.

4:41

Uh we can create create a profile on each business that will have their con their street address, um, contact information, the type of category they're in, uh, quick employment snapshot, and any notes that we need to take on what the business feels or how the business feels about doing business downtown.

5:00

What can we do to make things better for them?

5:02

What issues are they having?

5:04

What do they like about doing business downtown?

5:07

So we have a section for all that here.

5:09

We also have a section for the business property value information, which we can either get from the county or get from the property owners themselves.

5:19

And then we do have a separate section that tracks the property valuation for downtown Wilmington or any of these subsections that we're looking at here.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Technology and Innovation████████████████████████24%

Public Improvements██████████████14%

Public Engagement███████████11%

Economic Development██████████10%

Downtown Planning██████████10%

Engineering And Infrastructure█████████9%

Film Industry█████████9%

Procedural██████6%

Public Safety█████5%

Summary of Proceedings

Wilmington MSD Committee Meeting Summary – May 19, 2022

This meeting of the Wilmington Municipal Service District (MSD) Committee on May 19, 2022, covered updates from the Wilmington Police Department on street outreach, Wilmington Downtown Inc. (WDI) on micro loans and a new business data platform, city construction projects, the social district program, and a state legislative wrap-up. No formal votes were taken; the meeting was primarily informational and concluded with a motion to adjourn.

Discussion Items

Police Outreach Program

Lieutenant Nichols reported that the Police Department is participating in a street outreach program in partnership with WDI. A presentation to city council is expected in the next few weeks. Committee members expressed support for the program, noting it has already resulted in 300 interactions per month with individuals needing services (e.g., showers, medications, referrals).

WDI Micro Loan Program

Pauly from WDI announced that the micro loan program has closed six loans and has capacity for 10–15 more. Loans are up to $20,000 at 2.44% interest (rates are rising). Committee members encouraged referrals to local businesses.

PEER Business Data Platform

Christina (WDI) demonstrated a new software platform developed with PEER for business retention and expansion in the MSD and future Brooklyn Arts District. The platform includes business profiles, property valuation data, employment details, and revenue categories. Data collection will be done through voluntary, in-person interviews, starting with Market Street. A full timeline for data gathering was not given, but the goal is to build baseline data and eventually allow businesses to update their own profiles. The MSD RFP for management services is also pending.

MSD RFP Update

Chance reported that the MSD services RFP went live on the city website on Tuesday (presumably May 17, 2022) with a closed date of Thursday, April 14 (likely a mistake – the transcript says April 14, but the meeting is in May; the RFP may have been posted earlier). The goal is to have a recommendation to city council at its second meeting in May (May 17), but the schedule is tight. A recommendation to the committee may come at its April or May meeting.

Construction Updates

Parking Facility Sandblasting: Heavy sandblasting, paint removal, and anti-graffiti work is underway and expected to be completed by late next week.
Front Street Streetscaping (200 & 300 blocks): The project is set to commence Monday, April 18, starting at Grace and Front Street moving south. Construction will impact each block for 150–160 days. A communication group has been formed.
Federal Courthouse: Work is focused on the back alley side; impacts expected for 18–24 months.
Coast Guard Bulkhead: Work halted and then resumed; no updated timeline given.
BG Park: Completion expected mid-to-late April (date was still to be confirmed).
Alley Improvement Project: High-level design potentials were received but deemed unsatisfactory; no guidelines for alleys have been developed. The alley next to Platypus and Gnome was mentioned as needing attention for trash and storage issues.
Sidewalk Cafe Medallion Program: The program is being revisited and may be rewritten. Inquiries should be directed to Catherine.

Social District Program

Lieutenant Nichols and Chance reported that the social district program is still under discussion among the manager's office, police, and staffing. Greensboro passed its social district in December and activated it on March 1; Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham, and High Point are also considering similar districts.

New Committee Member

Ryan Belcher from Live Nation was introduced as the new nightlife representative on the committee. He has been with Live Nation for eight years and previously lived in Wilmington. He expressed enthusiasm for the role.
Additionally, McKay (from East West Partners) has submitted an application to fill the vacancy left by Teresa, likely as a large property owner representative.

State Legislative Wrap-up

A speaker (likely a city lobbyist) provided a high-level summary of the 2021 long session (which had not formally adjourned due to redistricting). The session was described as the strongest for the city of Wilmington in recent memory. Key points:
- The city gained significant resources, stopped negative proposals (e.g., on short-term rentals), and achieved policy improvements.
- State Senator Michael Lee introduced a bill to add $68 million to the state film grant (did not pass but budget improvements occurred), led on indemnification for the Wilmington MPO, and ran public safety bills.
- Representative Deb Butler led legislation on corporate polluters (PFAS), championed bike/pedestrian funding, and helped stop a bill on short-term rental authority.
- Representative Ted Davis used his seniority to bring resources back to the area (food bank, opioids, parks).
- New Representative Charlie Miller (Southport) has been impactful and engaged with the city.

Key Outcomes

No formal votes were taken on the items discussed. The meeting concluded with a motion to adjourn, which was seconded and passed.
The MSD RFP is active; a recommendation to city council is targeted for May 17 (before this meeting, though the meeting date is May 19; the timeline may have shifted or the recommendation occurred earlier).
McKay's application for committee membership is pending final appointment.
Committee members agreed to follow up on alley guidelines and the sidewalk cafe medallion rewrite.

Meeting Transcript

Back in full swing and with a Z when everything coming up or and the concerts. We're we're gearing up for hopefully some fun times. When do you anticipate making that presentation to city council? He did not say, uh he just said in the next few weeks. That's all he told me. All right. Thank you. Uh we we uh we'll look forward to your presentation to this to city council and to us. Yes, sir. Thank you. Any other questions for Lieutenant Nichols? I'd just like to add uh thank the Wilmington Police Department to begin of the participation in the outreach program. I think it's really important movement. And thank you for that. Yes, sir. All right, we'll move on to report from uh WDI. Pauly. Sure. Yeah, we uh just wanted to again put in a plug for our micro loan program. Uh we do have several more loans in the hopper now. We've closed on six of those. We could do uh another 10 to 15 um loans within the program. So um, you know, please be sure and let businesses know as you talk to folks within your network about that availability of funds up to 20,000 right now, currently at 2.44%, but interest rates are rising. So um, so we would like for people to get in and take advantage of that. Um, secondly, just want to thank uh Lieutenant Nicholson I know you you mentioned this this morning too about the uh partnership with with Jack and with the street outreach and the ambassadors. So we're very excited about um the work that he's doing that Jack has been able to do, and um you know, I think that was reflected his some of his good work in this month's report. So the report that Veronica sends out the last couple of pages were actually um specifically talking about some of the um individuals that Jack had interacted with and reached out to. He's touching 300 people, you know, having interactions with 300 different um, you know, not different folks, but 300 different interactions a month. Um, you know, about he's pretty consistent that he is um that he is interacting with in some way, helping them get to services, helping them get to showers, helping them get their medications, whatever it is that they they may need. So we're really um thankful for his work and his impact. And I'm especially um glad to hear that things are going so well um in his partnership with the with the police. That's that's great for us to hear. So anything else that we can do on that front, please let us know. Um, I also wanted to turn things over to Christina. She and Nancy had had uh sent an email about this a little earlier. She wanted to report on PEER, the company we've been working with on developing the uh software platform for business retention expansion in the downtown within the MSD. And so I'm gonna let her take it away with a little um she's got a little demo of that program. All right, uh if um I could share my screen, that would be helpful. You should be able to now. All right, can everybody see? You should see a screen that says business data. All right. Well, um, let me show you the front end first. This is what we have been working with um through here, um, formerly barely. Uh they have uh developed a front-end platform to the program that I think looks really nice. It's uh they got the MSD logo and all the different districts. Um, we will be starting with, of course, the MSD area, which would be the central business district, and uh and later moving to the Brooklyn Arts district. Um, but they have uh set aside different sections of this technology to show different jobs by industry, jobs by industry breakdown, job growth uh projections, um, jobs by type. So this is really a great program where we can really outline um data and good graphs and things that we could use to share with our with our city council members, or you know, help help affect some policy changes um in the future if we need to. Um, we have other portions.

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