By Frankie Dakin
Millington is on the move, just according to plan.
While some cities scramble to keep up with growth, Millington, TN is ahead of the curve—and it’s no accident.
My hometown is growing faster than any other city in Shelby County. This is something we should be proud of—and something we, as a city, have strategically planned for. In fact, thanks to planning and infrastructure investments over many years by our community, we have the water, sewer, and electric (thanks to our partners at Memphis Light, Gas & Water (MLGW)) capacity to more than double our population without making any significant new investments. At the conclusion of Millington Municipal Schools’ five-year plan, we’ll be able to add school classroom capacity to that list.
We got here by sticking to the facts and sticking to the plan—which is incredibly hard to do in today’s charged, fear-mongering political environment, by the way, but I digress.
Nevertheless, we can’t rest with a dusty plan on the shelf, and our team has been working hard to listen to residents and innovate to make sure that our growth benefits current residents.
Why else would growth even matter, right?
In that spirit, we compiled a brief list of 10 concrete actions our team has taken just over the last six months based on the guidance of our board and residents. This doesn’t include longer-term projects and is not exhaustive, but hopefully it gives you an idea of our perspective on how we maintain a business-friendly environment while managing growth that keeps our community on the right track.
Here are 10 strategic actions we’ve taken in just the last six months to manage Millington’s growth the right way:
1. Instituted new moratorium on gas stations
2. Instituted new moratorium on vape stores
3. Extended moratorium on solar farms
4. Funded new Traffic Division within Millington Tennessee Police Department, expanded license plate readers, and raised officer pay by upwards of 20% in last 18 months.
5. Doubled Code Enforcement staff capacity
6. Completed first proactive commercial district code sweep
7. Inspected and ensured zoning code compliance at all 20+ active development sites (stormwater, landscaping, etc.)
8. Purchased new sanitation truck
9. Digitized planning and development application process (but still accept paper applications from our mom-and-pop shops). That means that soon we’ll be able to make available a digital map of ongoing developments. In the meantime, check our planning commission agendas for accurate info.
10. Initiated Industrial Development Board reform to better align economic development with public interests (recruit businesses that provide good jobs and/or expand entertainment and recreation opportunities for families)
Oh, and No. 11 as a bonus: Initiated the effort to preserve one of the most historically significant buildings in town that has stood blighted for at least six years.
This list isn’t exhaustive, but it includes a few facts that may not make it into water cooler talk that I thought longtime, and new to town, community members may appreciate.
We still have work to do, but I can assure you that our team is working diligently with Mayor Larry Dagen and the Board of Aldermen to take advantage of the moment we’re in—to benefit our existing residents.
We’ve laid the foundation. Now it’s time to keep building—together.
