MILLSBORO, Del. - The Town of Millsboro is holding a referendum on November 20th. It is looking for authority to borrow up to $38 million, but no borrowing is taking place just yet. Sheldon Hudson says the town has to get the legal authority to do that borrowing.
"We are writing grants seeking out different funding sources so we do not have to borrow the full $38 million," said Michelle Truitt, the Millsboro Mayor.
The referendum is targeting three projects: upgrading the sewer plant, replacing the water and sewer lines, and building a new police station.
Chief Brian Calloway says the current police building is 5,000 square feet and the proposed building would be 13,000 and would accommodate 30 people.
Calloway says the new building will have a new feature: a soft interview room for crime victims.
The town is going to keep the existing wastewater treatment plant "and modify it a little bit and put a new sewer plant on White Farm ... we need to update our system and make it more economical to run. The current system is very expensive," said Truitt.
YouTube video from the town shows one of the sanitary sewer pipes had collapsed, which has been fixed. Millsboro has been using the same water and sewer mains since 1964.
"We'd prefer to address those now instead of playing defense waiting for them to fail, because emergency repairs are a lot more costly than planned repairs," said town manager Sheldon Hudson.
"If taxpayers see any increase it would be for the sewer plant and water main replacements," said Truitt.
This is a rendering of the proposed Millsboro police station.
Millsboro Police Department
The town is budgeting $5 million, and the total will cost around 7 and a half million.
"The current plan is to put the new police department off of Ellis Street ... the thinking is the department continues to expand and we want to make sure they have sufficient room," said Hudson.
The town also received $550,000 in state bond assistance for the community center (below is another rendering with the community center).
Conceptual Drawing of Police StationMillsboro Police Department
"We want everybody to realize we are just planning and making room to accommodate our needs for the future," said Truitt.
If the referendum isn't passed Hudson says there would be more emergencies in town. The referendum will be held Saturday, November 20 at town hall from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
