4th District NPC

News Releases

Support Wilmingtons Healthy 2010 Initiative

News Release
Mayor's Healthy Lunch Walk Program
Thursday, May 19, 2005

Mayor Asks Citizens to Take Steps to Better Health by Walking, Adopting a Better Nutritional Diet, and Leading a Healthier Lifestyle

Wilmington Mayor James M. Baker today launched another series of summer and fall Healthy Lunch Walks to encourage City employees and citizens throughout Wilmington to incorporate additional physical activity into their lifestyles for better health. Mayor Baker designed the Healthy Lunch Walk Program in late 2003, urging citizens to design and use their own one-mile walking courses in neighborhoods and communities as a way to stay healthy. The Mayor said the Healthy Lunch Walk Program supports the goals for improved health as outlined in the City’s Healthy Wilmington 2010 Initiative.

“Healthy Wilmington 2010 and the Healthy Lunch Walk Program are based on medical evidence and studies showing that we can and will become a healthier City if our citizens promote, support and incorporate physical activity and improved nutritional habits into their daily routines,” Mayor Baker said today. “I would hope that citizens, community groups and neighborhood associations all over the City would use the designated Downtown walking courses or design and promote their own courses to help people throughout Wilmington stay healthier.”
The Mayor noted that chronic disease prevention is one of seven priority health goals that have been identified in “Healthy Wilmington 2010.” The seven priority health areas are:

 Access to Preventive Health Care
 Chronic Disease Prevention
 HIV/AIDS
 Mental Health
 Responsible Sexual Behavior
 Substance Abuse
 Violence Prevention

Mayor Baker is scheduled to lead other Healthy Lunch Walks on June 16, July 21, August 18, September 15, October 20 and November 17


The Mayor said participating in a physical activity such as a daily walk could help reduce stress and prevent the development of various other chronic diseases.

Today's Lunch Walk route will begin on French Street between 8th and 9th Street and move north to 12th and French Streets, turn west to 12th and Orange Streets and then travel south to 8th and Orange before returning to the 8th and French Street starting point. Other routes designated by the Mayor follow a one-mile pattern south to 4th Street and north to 16th Street.

Joining the Mayor for today’s walk were City Council Member At-Large Charles ‘Bud’ Freel, City employees and representatives of the YMCA of Delaware, the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Delaware, the Alzheimer’s Association of Delaware, Curves and the Salvation Army Senior Center.

“Our own individual health and the health of our children and families should be of the highest priority because good health improves our chances

Visions 10th Anniversity

News Release
Downtown Visions 10th Anniversary Celebration
Thursday, May 19, 2005

Wilmington Mayor James Baker Leads Celebration for Downtown Visions 10th Anniversary

Company is Responsible for Managing the Downtown Business Improvement District, Wilmington’s Clean and Safe Teams, the Downtown Video Safety Partnership, and the Downtown Farmer’s Market

Downtown Visions (DV), the management company for the 70-square block Business Improvement District (BID) in Downtown Wilmington, is celebrating its 10th year of service to the residential and corporate community of the City this year. Wilmington Mayor James M. Baker, who sponsored the City law creating a BID in Wilmington when he was President of Wilmington City Council, today helped lead the 10th anniversary celebration for Downtown Visions at a news conference in Freedom Plaza.

Today’s ceremony also marked the official unveiling of new, brighter gold and black spring and winter uniforms for Downtown Visions Clean and Safe representatives. The new color scheme and logo design replace the teal and tan color combination by which the Clean and Safe staff had come to be identified in the Downtown area over the past decade.

“Downtown Visions, in displaying excellent planning and management of the BID, the Clean and Safe Program, the Downtown Video Safety Partnership Program, and the Downtown Farmers Market is an integral part of Wilmington’s business and residential renaissance,” Mayor Baker said today. “Downtown Visions’ many successes over the last decade are due to the creative management of Executive Director Marty Hageman, Deputy Director Dean Vietri, and the DV Board of Directors,” the Mayor continued. “Downtown Vision is also an example of the enormous amount of good that can be accomplished through cooperation between the corporate and government communities.”

Downtown Visions was formed in late 1994 and early 1995 after State and City enabling legislation was approved allowing for the formation of Business Improvement Districts. While most BIDS take years to establish, Wilmington developed its BID in only one year through unprecedented levels of private and public collaboration.

The $1.5 million annual operating budget for Downtown Visions is funded through an assessment formula for the 776 business land parcels of various sizes in the Downtown District. In addition, DV has received grants over the years from the Longwood Foundation and Welfare Foundation on a per project basis, as well as additional corporate support from Dupont, MBNA, WSFS and other businesses in the Downtown area.

“The original State legislation and City ordinance gave Downtown Visions the ability to enhance City services downtown and ultimately, to make the downtown area a cleaner, safer, and more attractive place to live, shop, visit and do business. This was and continues to be a fundamental step in the revitalization of Wilmington,” said Downtown Visions Executive Director Hageman.

According to Director Hageman, the company was charged at its inception with providing additional security through foot patrols of Clean and Safe representatives and mechanical steam cleaning of sidewalks within the district. He said DV has evolved over the past 10 years to include not only cleaning, but also managing the Downtown Video Safety Partnership, the first of its kind in the nation, in that it is a video camera monitoring system that covers the entire downtown district.

“The Video Safety Partnership has deterred and reduced crime and has helped to change the perception of public safety in Wilmington,” Mayor Baker said. “We continue to put would-be criminals on notice that violations of the law will not be tolerated, while assuring residents, workers and visitors that we are absolutely committed to making Wilmington a safer, more attractive, and enjoyable City.”

Downtown Visions is in its second year of managing the Downtown Wilmington Farmer’s Market at Rodney Square. The Farmers Market has become a popular destination spot for people to come out and enjoy great food, unique gifts items, and artwork every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., while also enjoying various forms of free entertainment that is offered.

Through the Video Safety Partnership, the Clean and Safe Team, which has expanded from 14 to 29 safety representatives and 15 cleaners, has evolved into additional “eyes and ears” for the Wilmington Police Department. “Our CSRs are trained in first aid, crisis intervention, directing traffic, and customer service. They are essentially goodwill ambassadors for the City, providing directions and assistance to anyone who needs it,” Hageman said.

As for the new Downtown Visions logo and uniforms, Director Hageman said the new look is easily recognizable and offers a friendly and approachable style of dress for Downtown Visions staff, while maintaining a professional look that is important for the type of work performed.

In the past 10 years, Downtown Visions has assisted in over 5,000 emergency situations, including fire, medical, property damage, and disabled vehicles; provided nearly 360,000 merchant contacts and special attention calls, including patrols in parking lots and garages; assisted the City Police Department with more than 2,200 apprehensions; removed nearly 1.5 million pounds of trash from the BID; provided security and assistance at over 3,500 events; assisted in dispersing 15,000 intoxication and disorderly conduct or nuisance incidents; and provided more than 8,200 citizen escorts.

As the City continues to grow, so too, does Downtown Visions. Executive Director Hageman concluded today’s news conference by saying, “As move into our second decade and outline our strategic plan, we hope to continue to work with Mayor Baker to further develop community, government and corporate partnerships that form the cornerstone of revitalization. Downtown Visions now looks to the future to find new and innovative ways to improve and expand our services. We will continue to promote downtown Wilmington as a clean, safe and inviting place to work, live, shop and be entertained.”