2010

City puts $45,000 into incubator

Slugline Publication Date Section(s) Page Byline City-puts--45-000-into-incubator-Wilson Daily Times January 23, 2010 Local News

Wilson City Council unanimously voted Thursday to give $45,000 to a small business starter that is itself having trouble getting started. The board made the donation to the Upper Coastal Plain Business Development Center, which is in the old Belk building at 121 W. Nash St. The center opened in late 2007 as a small-business incubator, a place where new companies can operate until they build a client base allowing them to move out. But the economic downturn in 2008 made it a particularly hard time to launch, said Greg Godard, executive director of the Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments. A year later, it only had two tenants on three available floors. Godard was forced to lay off the center's full-time staff and take over its management himself, he said. Today, the situation has improved, he said. The center has nine tenants leasing space and other potential clients. But the center would need to lease about 80 percent of its floor space to be self-sufficient, he said. The county gave the center $45,000 in its 2009-10 budget, which Godard asked the council to match. The city had not made a contribution since March 2009 when it gave $25,000. City Council members noted that they were in an awkward situation. "I don't want to see that center fail and I don't want to see the city blamed for its failure," Mayor Bruce Rose said. But Councilman Bill Blackman noted that Godard will be asking this spring for another donation in the city's 2010-11 budget, which Godard confirmed.

"We will need support until we get the second and third floors rented out," he said. "I'm going to have a hard time voting for it when this comes up again," Blackman said. Former governor Jim Hunt warned local officials to be patient during the center's 2007 dedication, Councilman A.P. Coleman said. "He said incubators were slow to get going, even in a booming economy." Also Thursday, the City Council: * Appointed Gary Bachara and Chip Futrell to the Historic Preservation Commission; Cordie Baker and Jonathan Brunson, Human Relations Commission; Linda Wheeler, Committee on Patriotism; and former councilwoman Doris Jones, Highway 301 Advisory Committee. * Rezoned a 5-acre tract that's between two stub ends of Buckingham Road NW, west of Nash Street, to allow for the construction of homes. * Agreed to delay a request to rezone 1721 Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway E. for business use to allow the Highway 301 Advisory Committee to make a recommendation. The issue will come back before council on Feb. 18. mshaw@wilsontimes.com | 265-7878