Business View Magazine | September 2019

277 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE SEPTEMBER 2019 amusement parks in the nation. Business View Magazine recently asked Township of Millcreek Supervisor, John E. Morgan, and Director of Planning & Development, Matthew Waldinger, for insights into their attractive, forward-thinking community and its many assets and attributes. The following is an edited transcript of that conversation. BVM: Can you describe Millcreek from a planning perspective? Morgan: “We’re about 55,000 residents; the second largest municipality in northwest Pennsylvania and a first ring suburb to the City of Erie, which is about 100,000 residents. In Pennsylvania, there’s a tendency for fiefdoms – for municipalities to compete with one another for resources. In our county alone, there are 38 municipalities. What we’ve been trying to do over the last four years is to find out what is Millcreek’s niche. So, we’re not competing with the City of Erie, but we’re actually fulfilling our role in the metropolitan area to complement the efforts of our neighboring municipalities. And through our comprehensive planning process, we found that we’re strongest in the retail and tourism sectors, and we’re also a community of choice for residents. We want to offer a great sense of place with our recreational and tourist amenities, and our strength in the retail sector, providing shopping and dining options for residents and visitors.” Waldinger: “We just went through a comprehensive planning process a year ago and we found that Millcreek does have strengths we can build off of. We have some of the highest income households in Erie County – one out of every three families in the County that earn over $100,000 per year live in Millcreek. And one out of every 2.5 families that make $200,000-plus lives here. That’s based mainly on the strength of our housing market, our newer housing stock, and our school district does a good job of bringing those people in. We have seen rebounds in Millennials coming back to Millcreek to roost.” BVM: What makes Millcreek a special place for residents and tourists? pictured Director of Planning & Development, Matthew Waldinger and Millcreek Supervisor, John E. Morgan MI LLCREEK TOWNSHI P , PENNSYLVANI A