In June, city officials are expected to consider a proposal to establish a Municipal Service District for downtown Wilmington, and in recent weeks supporters and opponents of the measure have weighed in. 

Those who disagree with the proposal have been collecting signatures on a petition that could potentially put the issue on November’s ballot, leaving the establishment of an MSD up to city voters.  

Ed Wolverton, supporter

Wolverton, president and CEO of Wilmington Downtown Inc. provided an overview of the issue and reasons why he thinks an MSD is necessary:

“In 2014, the City of Wilmington asked Wilmington Downtown Incorporated (WDI) to evaluate a Municipal Service District (MSD) to provide extra services for downtown residents, businesses and property owners. After almost 18 months of review, a task force of people in the Central Business District (CBD) zoning area recommended starting an MSD to further improve downtown. The recommendation is for a district to be the CBD, a rate of 7 cents per $100 of value, an annual budget of about $275,000 and a citizen’s oversight committee. City council is now considering this commonly used tool to fund extra security, cleanliness, economic development and other programs for downtown.”

An MSD is needed, Wolverton said.

“Business centers require a range of services to attract and retain customers and tenants – whether in the suburbs or a downtown. At a minimum, the center must be safe, clean, landscaped, marketed, lively and occupied. An MSD can provide extra services to an area beyond those offered by local government, similar to a homeowners association.”

He also called the costs nominal.

“The average cost to a downtown property owner would be $242.29 a year or 66 cents a day.  This shows that the average annual amount is affordable and will not force small shops to close. In fact, the benefits of a safer and more attractive district can increase business.”

Justin LaNasa, opponent

A downtown property and business owner, LaNasa has been collecting signatures on a petition to have the matter put on the general election ballot in November. He needs a little over 1,700 verifiable signatures from city residents by October.

He said he doesn’t agree with the MSD proposal at all, saying he believes the rate would inevitably increase from 7 cents to 14 or 20 cents. He also said he believes downtown ambassadors would be ineffective and that proponents are just using safety as a way to sell a bad idea.

ON SAFETY: “I would feel much more comfortable giving $270,000 [of] tax dollars to fund six more law enforcement officers that are trained, that can respond at any hour of the night rather than only work until 4 [p.m.] and not have training … Every service that this MSD is providing is already provided – waste management, police, pressure washing the streets … My big thing is management. If we had the proper people in government that would manage government right, we wouldn’t need this. That’s the bottom line. It isn’t that we don’t have the funds; it’s that we don’t have the ability to manage the resources that are already there.” 

ON THE PETITION: In addition to city signatures, “we have people [who live] in the county that want to sign it, too, but they can’t; that’s the sad thing about it … you have county residents that are going to be affected just like the city residents when prices go up [downtown].” 

Terry Espy, supporter

Espy, president of commercial development and real estate brokerage firm MoMentum Companies who handles a lot of downtown Wilmington transactions, said her experience as a property owner in a Business Improvement District in Raleigh was a positive one.

“Yes, we paid the increased taxes because we did own properties there. I love the example they used when they informed us of that [BID]. They made it simple. They said consider your street just like in a shopping center, except the problem with it being an urban market is that on your own you may be taking wonderful care of your building, but the guy next door may not. The general public sees the inconsistency; they don’t see that one group is outstanding …”

Comparing the MSD to a Common Area Maintenance fee, the MSD tax “would still be far less than going into one of the major retail centers,” she said.

ON SAFETY: She said safety is a main concern to potential buyers or renters of downtown property, and perception of safety plays a major part.

“Anything that lets people know that there’s additional safety efforts being made gives people greater security to come downtown. My hope with an MSD is that it will continue to improve safety in the downtown market.”

Dean Ripa, opponent

Ripa, who owns the Cape Fear Serpentarium at 20 Orange St. in the CBD, said he considers the MSD proposal “a failure from top to bottom.”

“It’s completely unnecessary. There are other cities that have this MSD, and they’re kind of stuck with it and can’t get rid of it … But you’ve got to understand this was created in 1973, this MSD, the whole concept. That was a different world in 1973. If you wanted to call the police you had to find a phone booth. You had to have a quarter in your pocket … there were no cell phones.  … We don’t need that any more.

“Everybody on the street has one of those,” Ripa said, pointing to a cell phone. “You’re one second from calling the police. Everybody on the street can take a picture of any crime taking place. Crime is so far down right now, it’s almost non-existent downtown.”
 

More information about the MSD proposal is available on the city of Wilmington’s website here.