is there such a thing as a "static" function template that isn't inside of a class?

[Christopher the Magnificent]

I see this code AT THE TOP (MODULE) LEVEL of one of Michel Fortin's 
D/Objective-C bridge source files and I'm trying to wrap my head around it.

        /** Wrap an object instance within an object of this class. */
        static Object
        objcCreateWrapper(T)(id instance)
        {
                // Retain the Objective-C instance prior wrapping it.
                // It needs to be done prior wrapping so that
                // invariants holds
                // after the constructor is called.
                objc.msg.send!(id)(instance, selector!("retain"));
                
                // Create new Wrapper.
                return new T(instance);
        }
At issues is the keyword "static" in front of the template function. 
This is not inside of a class, so static does not seem to make sense 
with what I know about D.  Can anyone explain this to me?

--Christopher