Residents give Apopka their 2 cents’ worth on dollar stores
Marcus West carried a plastic bag of groceries out of an Apopka Dollar Tree, within sight of a Family Dollar and earshot of a 99¢ Store.
And though the rewards of bargain shopping were freshly inked across his receipt, he still couldn’t help but feel the city’s dollar-store count has gotten a little out of whack.
“To me, there’s too many,” he said.
The stores have their place, the 54-year-old Apopka resident said, but can’t the city add a Red Lobster to the mix?
Judging by a recent city survey, it seems many other Apopkans have had their fill of sales, savings, clearance events, bargain basements and thrifty finds. During the past few months, a community- wide planning initiative called “Visioning Apopka” has invited residents to describe the direction they’d like to see the city head.
One answer: far, far away from the dollar stores.
“NO MORE DOLLAR STORES! NO MORE STRIP MALLS!” one survey respondent blasted.
Then there was a rueful commenter who wrote that “we have more Dollar stores and Taco Bells than you can shake a stick at.” An-
other person mused about a downtown area where businesses didn’t “include Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Nails, Pawn, or drive through in their names.”
Mayor Joe Kilsheimer said these frustrated outpourings came as no surprise to him.
“When I was campaigning, that was one thing I heard more than anything else: What can we do to not have so many dollar stores?” he said.
City planning staff have tallied up nine dollar stores within Apopka’s roughly 33 square miles, and there is at least one more just outside the incorporated limits. Family Dollar has three Apopka locations, according to its website. Dollar Tree has two stores in the city, and Dollar General has another three. There’s also the 99¢ Store.
An online search shows Oviedo, a similarly sized city, only has three dollar stores.
The abundance of lowprice options doesn’t bother some city residents. Allenea Bolden, 54, of Apopka said she likes shopping where she can bump into friends and neighbors of all income levels.
“What I like about the dollar store is it doesn’t separate anybody,” she said.
But other residents feel the stores send a message about the city, and one that “is not complimentary,” Kil- sheimer said. On the other hand, the mayor says, the stores do create jobs and seem to be good citizens of the local retail community.
Though city planners can’t preclude dollar stores from coming to Apopka, they can manage and direct growth, Kilsheimer said.
The high number of fastfood restaurants, strip malls and auto-parts stores in Apopka also drew collective groans from survey respondents.
In the place of these establishments, people wrote that they wanted to see locally owned restaurants, “quaint little shops,” craft breweries and community gathering places. Like Winter Park and Winter Garden, one person after another suggested.
“Why does Winter Park get to have all the fun?” a respondent wondered.
Leaving Dollar Tree with a bag of whole-wheat bread he’d bought for $1, Rick Baginski said he doesn’t want to see Apopka take on a posh new identity. The city has always been a place where working people could feel at home, he said.
“It’s not like you have to have a certain amount in your bank account or drive a certain car or wear certain clothes to fit into your own neighborhood,” Baginski, 63, of Apopka said.
Baginski said he hopes that feeling is preserved as local leaders set Apopka’s course for the future.
The recent visioning survey was one method officials used to gather input from residents and business owners about the city’s plans. More than 1,100 completed surveys were submitted, according to a news release.
The city also held a series of sessions giving residents an open forum to offer their ideas.
Apopka leaders will review the information in two upcoming meetings and use it to craft a 10-year plan for the city.
brodgers@tribpub.com