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DELAWARE

Millsboro says plan to draw business, residents is working

Gray Hughes
The Daily Times
Rodger Perry and Grandson Connor Perry stand in their new Gunshooter Enterprise location in downtown Millsboro, DE. on Thursday, June 22, 2017.

On the Millsboro municipal website, a message is displayed front and center about the town's new vision: "Explosive Growth. Retailers Wanted. Families & Employers Welcome."

It's part of a plan that focuses on attracting businesses to boost the quiet little town's economy.  

The town has tried to ensure it is as welcoming as possible for families and businesses, and efforts paid off recently with the arrival of Lewes Dairy, according to Town Manager Sheldon Hudson.

That move was all but approved by the Millsboro Town Council on June 12 when they voted to approve Lewes Dairy's newest facility construction plans.

"The council is trying to focus not just on residential growth but retail growth," Hudson said. "They want the town to be diverse with the population with attracting seniors, middle-aged people and young people.

"That's why Lewes Dairy coming to town is such a big deal. They're bringing their warehouse and their office."

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The town council also voted during the winter to reduce impact fees by 25 percent, a move, Hudson said, that would save businesses $20,000 to $30,000. The reduction of impact fees was one of the driving factors that got Lewes Dairy to move to Millsboro, said Lewes Dairy owner Jay Meany.

"We have a good relationship with the Millsboro town council," he said. "With the fees that they have altered, it made for an easy decision to move."

The dairy is moving, Meany said, because they did not own the land their distribution center was on, and the current owners are selling it for a price it could not afford.

But moving to Millsboro had advantages other than saving money. Lewes Dairy will be building a "much more updated" facility, Meany said, among other factors.

"We decided to go more centrally located for distribution purposes," he said. "Hopefully, we can be in by the end of the year."

Hudson said the town did what it could do to get Lewes Dairy to move to Millsboro.

He added that, since Lewes Dairy supplies milk for schools in both Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland, the more centralized location made sense for the business.

"Millsboro is, geographically, a hub for Delmarva," he said.

Millsboro Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram holds its groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday, April 27, 2017.

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The growth of Millsboro isn't confined to businesses. Hudson said the town expects its population to double in size in 10 years after more than doubling in size between 2000 and 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The latest estimate in 2016 has Millsboro's population at 4,293, but it also sits just off Route 113, a road that sees hundreds of thousands of drivers making their summer drive to the beaches in Fenwick Island, Bethany and Ocean City, Maryland. 

And businesses have noticed a change.

Millsboro has a mixture of both chain and independent retail outlets, with chain stores focused more along Route 113 and independent retailers focused on the Main Street of the town.

Ed Carey is the part owner of Carey's Frame Shop, a store his mother and father began in 1965. The building his store is in was built 177 years ago, he said, and he said he doesn't expect Millsboro's expansion to stop any time soon.

"I see it growing," he said. "I think there's a lot of potential here. ... I think this community is poised to grow more with the proper people in place. I think we are going to continue to see a boom."

Before moving back to Millsboro in 2009 to help with the family store, Carey said he lived in Milford, and from there, he said he could tell Millsboro was becoming increasingly busy.

Other businesses have noticed a change, too.

Leslie Holland, a sales representative at Candlelight Bridal in downtown Millsboro, has only worked at her job for a year, but already she has seen the town change.

"The other day, I counted five restaurants on the Main Street," she said. "That's probably the most I have ever seen."

She said she has seen Millsboro increase in population, especially with senior citizens who are moving to Plantation Lakes and nearby Long Neck.

Ed Carey, co-owner of Carey's Frame Shop, stands behind the counter of his family store in downtown, Millsboro, Delaware on Thursday, June 22, 2017.

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And these newest members of the Millsboro community will be getting more businesses at which they can shop.

Within the past few months, Hudson said businesses like Mid Atlantic Animal Hospital, Royal Farms, a new Preston Chrysler location and Chick-Fil-A — along with Lewes Dairy and others — will be joining the Millsboro community.

The population growth Millsboro has experienced over the past decade, he said, does not surprise Carey.

"This place has exploded," he said. "This place is busy, and it's growing."

Many retail outlets move to the town because of the business-friendly policies enacted by the town council.

On Main Street in Millsboro is Gunshooter Enterprises, owned by Rodger Perry, a lifelong Millsboro resident.

After starting a gunsmith business outside the town in 1984, he moved the family business to Millsboro and started to sell guns.

Millsboro had many mills and the water was used to make many different products.

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He said the town is very easy to work with and he has a great relationship with the town, police department and town manager.

"To me, they are very business friendly," he said. "They don't make it any harder than it has to be. I've never had an issue with the town."

The population growth, he said, has "absolutely" helped his business, especially with residents who moved to the town from states with stricter gun regulations such as Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.

Business owners and members of local government alike are excited about Millsboro's growth.

"The council is very pro-business," Hudson said. "The vote to lower impact fees was unanimous, and it's rare to have that level of unity. Millsboro wants to capitalize on the fact that it is more business friendly."

With these business friendly moves, Hudson said he hopes the town will be able to attract more grocery stores, restaurants and a hospital one day.

The business owners, too, want to capitalize on Millsboro's charm, and hopes the downtown area will be able to draw in more visitors.

"I think Millsboro could become another Berlin," Perry said. "A town with quaint shopping and things like that."

On Twitter @hughesg19