Class of 2020 Completes Session on Infrastructure

Leadership Wilmington kicked off 2020 with an exciting and informative session on infrastructure. We began our day with Bethany Welch, Senior Manager, Communications & Business Outreach, with the NC State Ports Authority. Bethany led us through a presentation and bus tour of the 284-acre Port of Wilmington. Between the two Ports in North Carolina, Port of Wilmington and Port of Morehead City, over four million tons of general cargo are moved per year and the two Ports see 965 ship calls combined per year.  The Port’s location is Wilmington provides a competitive advantage placing it within 700 miles of more than 70% of the US industrial base.

Following the tour of the Port of Wilmington we heard from Rebekah Roth, CZO, AICP and Glenn Harbeck regarding planning and development in New Hanover County and the City of Wilmington respectively. Rebekah, Senior Planner for New Hanover County, discussed the challenges and opportunities that come with New Hanover County being the second smallest county geographically but in the top ten for population growth. In preparation for that growth the County is developing a Unified Development Ordinance to update county zoning, subdivision, and stormwater regulations into one unified set of regulations. Glenn Harbeck, Director of Planning, Development & Transportation with the City of Wilmington shared with us the ten ways to build a better Wilmington, including promoting balanced mix use development, make walking and biking real mobility options, building with the improvement of public transit in mind, and building complete streets.

For our second site visit of the day the class traveled to the Wilmington International Airport (ILM) for a presentation by airport director Julie Wilsey, AAE. It was announced the day of our visit that ILM reached one million travelers in 2019! Top priorities for Julie in accommodating the growing number of travelers in and out of Wilmington include direct flights to top travel destinations and continuing to grow parking availability.

To complete our session on infrastructure the class traveled to a new destination for Leadership Wilmington, Cape Fear Public Utility Authority’s Northside Wastewater Treatment Plant.  (The Sweeney Water Treatment Plant, a favorite visit of prior classes is currently undergoing renovations). The staff at Northside provided us with a detailed tour of how wastewater is treated and discharged.

The class is making great progress on Work on Wilmington! We appreciate every organization and individual that has donated or pledged financial or in-kind support. For more information on sponsorship opportunities please email me at lewis@wilmingtonchamber.org for an introduction to the Fundraising Committee. Finally, if you have not already signed up to volunteer we hope you’ll join us on April 25, 2020! More information and volunteer registration can be found here.