With extra evening daylight and daffodils starting to poke up from the ground, we're seeing signs of spring all around. At Town Hall, some signs of spring are the Assessing office organizing tax assistance applications, giant Easter eggs at parks around town (thanks to Community Services!), and all departments preparing their proposed FY2025 budgets for a presentation to the Town Council at the end of the month. Read on for the full gamut, and have your pen handy for some useful "save the dates" on upcoming deadlines, program event dates, and more.

 This month marks two years of our robust website, upgraded to its latest look and feel in March 2022. Our website is your best source for meeting links, applications, making online payments and more. Take a look.

Next Council Meeting: Wednesday, March 20

The next Town Council meeting is Wednesday, March 20 at 7:00pm (View on Town Calendar, agenda will be posted by end of day 3/15). It will be preceded by a 5:30pm workshop regarding the upcoming changes to Town flood maps:

Workshop: FEMA Flood Map Changes

5:30pm, View on Town Calendar

The Town of Scarborough will be adopting an updated set of digital flood insurance rate maps (DFIRMs) and floodplain management ordinance, effective June 20, 2024. It is required for the Town to remain in good standing as a participating community in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). In the March 20 Town Council workshop, Sue Baker, National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) State Coordinator with the Maine Department of Agriculture, will present an introduction on floodplain management and NFIP 101.

School Seeks Input for Superintendent Search

The Scarborough School Department has contracted Maine School Management Association to assist with the search for the next Superintendent of Schools. As part of the process, the Scarborough Board of Education seeks input from staff and school community stakeholders as to qualities and characteristics you would like to see present in this next superintendent.

Community Listening Sessions

Steve Bailey of Maine School Management Association will be hosting virtual listening sessions on Thursday, March 28 at 6:00pm, and again on Monday evening, April 1 at 6:00pm (Zoom links below), where he will be seeking feedback from Scarborough community members. The two will be repetitive, so no need to attend both.

• Thursday, March 28, 6:00-7:30p.m. (Zoom)
• Monday, April 1 at 6:00-7:30p.m. (Zoom)

Members of the community who attend will be asked to provide brief answers to five questions related to qualities and skills you feel are important and necessary in the next superintendent for the Scarborough School Department. If you are unable to attend one of these events or would like to submit your responses in written format, take the survey here. Submissions are due no later than March 29th. 

All responses from the community listening sessions and survey (without names) will be combined with the responses from our staff listening sessions that were conducted on March 12 and 14 into a report that will be provided to the Board of Education for their preparation of criteria for interview question development and candidate selection.

We appreciate your participation! Your feedback is incredibly valuable as we select the next Superintendent to lead our district. 

There will be two 3-year seats up on the Board of Education in the June 2024 Election. Nomination papers are available on Wednesday, March 6, 2024 and must be returned by close of business on Wednesday, April 3, 2024. (Not less than 25 and not more than 100 signatures of qualified registered voters can sign the nomination papers). For additional information, please call the Town Clerk's Office at 207-730-4020.

FY2025 Municipal Budget Review Starts Soon

The Process

The Town of Scarborough fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30. In the spring, the Town and School begin the annual budget process to prepare for the upcoming fiscal year. The review process provides opportunities for the Town Council and finance committee to learn more from individual departments and make any adjustments. It also creates space for citizen participation and input in the budget. The budget process typically concludes in early June to adopt the budget for the following fiscal year. 

What to Expect

Budget information is compiled into a single document for each fiscal year. The document provides a high-level summary by the Town Manager of the Town’s financial position and vision for the coming year. It also includes an itemized account of the budget by department, and the strategic goals and objectives to provide services to Scarborough residents. This will be presented by the Town Manager in a special Town Council meeting on March 27th and available on our website after it's presented.

As we approach the revaluation of all properties in town and the upcoming budget season, the Assessor expects a combination of a few factors that will uniquely affect residents' 2024-2025 property tax bills:

• Annual budget changes
• Relative increase in assessed value
• Potential "shift" of the tax burden from commercial to residential properties
• Elimination of the State's Senior Property Tax Stabilization Program

Town Assessor Nick Cloutier further explains these factors in a full article on our website. We are committed to keeping you informed about the potential impacts on your tax bills and providing any assistance or clarification you may need. We understand the significance of property taxes and their impact on finances, so we are dedicated to offering support and timely communication. Stay tuned in the coming weeks and months for more information to help you prepare for the next phases of the Revaluation and the FY25 Budget process.

Contact the Assessing office with any questions at (207) 730-4060 or assessing@scarboroughmaine.org.

The Town and State offer a few programs for tax assistance to property owners meeting certain qualifications. These are:

• Property Tax Assistance Program
• Maine Homestead Exemption
• Maine Veteran's Exemption
• Blind Exemption
• Renewable Energy Equipment Exemption
• Maine Property Tax Deferral Program

See all Programs on the Tax Relief page of our website. All applications must be filed on or before April 1st unless indicated otherwise. Please check the application for the appropriate deadline date. All applications are available online or in the Assessing office, located on the lower level of Town Hall (come through the back entrance of Town Hall). Please contact their office at (207) 730-4063 if you have any questions.

Scarborough Police Chief Mark Holmquist is featured in the first video of a new Wreaths Across America video series. The series is focused around their 2024 theme: Live with Purpose, sharing stories of those who find purpose in bettering their communities, supporting veterans and military families, and finding a way to serve every day.  

Chief Holmquist's feature focuses on the first attribute of a veteran’s wreath - the belief in the greater good. He was chosen by Wreaths Across America given his incredible service and experience as a Tomb Guard, and ongoing law enforcement service career.

Scarborough Police Chief Mark Holmquist was featured in a new video by Wreaths Across America, the first in a series called "Live with Purpose".

This Saturday: Public Safety Night at Maine Mariners

The Saturday, March 16 Maine Mariners will honor our Public Safety professionals. Members of Scarborough Police and Fire will be in attendance, and Officer Alyvia Cormier will be singing the national anthem to start off the night! Get tickets

The new School Building Advisory Committee wants your opinion! The Town of Scarborough will soon be mailing surveys to a randomized sample of addresses across Scarborough. The survey covers a variety of topics related to our public school buildings. Our survey consultant, ETC Institute, will collect and process the anonymous surveys and provide a report with key findings. The survey will also be open to the public for additional input. Your voice is important for a community solution to our schools. Stay tuned for more details!

The School Building Advisory Committee, comprised of community members and representation from Scarborough Town Council and School Board, is charged to provide guidance and recommendations regarding a solution to current and future facilities deficiencies in our K-8 schools. Meeting information and materials are accessible on the School website. We are currently working on updated materials to keep our community informed of our work and progress.

A true sign of spring—plovers are back! We had our first plover sighting of the season on Thursday, March 14. Please keep an eye out for these endangered shorebirds and give them their space. 

The Town’s restricted areas don't begin until April 1st, but we'd appreciate people avoiding these areas with dogs or leashing dogs on these sections of the beach. As a reminder, restricted areas are as follows:

• Higgins Beach - Champion Street to the spit
• Ferry/Western Beach - From the southern edge of the Ferry Beach parking lot to Ferry Rock and all of Western Beach
• Pine Point - Emma's Eats to the jetty

Thank you for helping protect our plovers!

Photo credit: Gretchen Mikeska

Piping plovers are endangered shorebirds that are protected by both State and Federal laws. In the spring and summer months, Scarborough’s beaches are home to several pairs of piping plovers. In fact, they’re our official town bird.

Scarborough is a prime piping plover habitat. They love to lay their eggs in our soft sand and raise their chicks on our beaches. During the nesting season (roughly April – August), it’s important that beachgoers know to steer clear of plover nests – that’s where our volunteers come in! Each summer, volunteer monitors visit our beaches to educate beachgoers about the birds and to keep an eye on their nests. If you can spare a couple hours each week to walk our beaches, talk with visitors, and monitor plover nesting areas, we’d love for you to volunteer with us!

Ideally, we're looking for a regular, weekly commitment, but we also know summer in Maine is precious. You can still volunteer even if you know you will only be able to help sporadically or if there are weeks when other plans will take you away from our beaches.

All volunteers need to:

• Be willing to talk and interact with the public
• Attend an annual volunteer training and orientation
• Educate beachgoers about plovers and beach rules meant to keep the birds safe
• Track volunteer time and complete written observation forms 

If you have any questions about becoming a Volunteer Beach Monitor, please contact Jami Fitch, Sustainability Manager, at jfitch@scarboroughmaine.org or 207.730.4035. 

Piping plover chick; Credit: Walter Brooks

Walking around the municipal campus you may notice a few new places to sit and stretch your legs. These five new benches are thanks to a collaborative project with Community Services and the Library. It is supported by "Age Friendly Communities", a national initiative of AARP. Scarborough was awarded the AARP Challenge Grant to add more benches and mileage markers to the walking routes on the Municipal Campus. The one pictured overlooks the pond by the Library.

Here's a good way to maximize your time at the beach this summer (and get paid): become a beach attendant! These positions are responsible for the collection of parking and launch fees. Duties include: keeping an accurate track of monies and passes sold daily and filling out daily log sheets; maintaining the cleanliness of restroom facilities; keeping the parking lots free of litter and other debris; and keeping an orderly flow of traffic in and out of parking areas.

Position requirements: Candidates must have completed their junior year of high school and hold a valid Maine driver’s license. Weekends are a must.

One Week Left! Park Hop Egg Hunt

March 1-22

The Easter Bunny visited Scarborough and dropped eggs all over town! Can you retrace the Bunny’s tracks and help find the eggs? Print the coloring page map to retrace the Bunny's tracks and help find the eggs. Once you've drawn the design seen on each egg, drop it off at the SCS Hub or email it to comserv@scarboroughmaine.org to be entered into an EGGCITING drawing for a basket full of goodies.

Bunny Breakfast

Saturday, March 23

8:00-9:30am

Register

$10 per family; Buy your ticket

Join us on Saturday, March 23 in the Wentworth Cafeteria for a yummy breakfast with our favorite special guest...the Easter Bunny! The menu includes pancakes, sausage, hash browns, and fruit, along with all of the fixings. Don’t forget to bring your camera for a photo op with the Bunny!

Spring Tea Workshop

Wednesday, March 27, 5:30-7:30pm

SCS Hub, 418 Payne Road

$30 per person

Register

Join Wild Few Herb Farm for this spring tea workshop. They’ll bring a variety of herbs along with information about each of their medicinal benefits and give an overview on the basics of tea blending. Each person will have the opportunity to blend their own bag to take home. Bring your own mug and sample your creation after you make it!

Spring Canvas Painting Night

Wednesday, April 3, 5:30-7:00 pm

SCS Hub, 418 Payne Road

$35 per person

Register

Join Nicole from Artful Nights Maine for a fun night of instructional canvas painting! Grab your friends or enjoy a date night with your partner as you paint a Spring-related picture on canvas. Snacks and all supplies included.

Terrarium Workshop

Thursday, March 28, 1:00-4:00pm

$35 resident, $40 non-resident

Includes transportation and terrarium

Register

Join us for an afternoon of terrarium building! Terrarium is a garden center and hub for DIY terrarium creations in Portland, serving housemade snacks, local craft beer, wine, coffee, and tea. Staff will walk you through all the how's and why's, and at the end, you'll get to take your terrarium home and watch it grow.

Find creative offerings for all ages in our Spring Programs Brochure.

Why Our Staff Works for the Town of Scarborough

While many think of Scarborough as a great place to live, go to the beach, or enjoy nature, our municipality is also the workplace for nearly 200 full-time employees. The Town of Scarborough relies on the strengths, skill sets, and passions of individuals who choose a career in public service. The Town of Scarborough is regularly seeking to fill vacancies in our police department, fire department, and public works departments. Community Services also expands its seasonal positions in the summer months, and we have a robust employee base of administrative, technical, and finance professionals at Town Hall.

Many of our current employees, including in public safety, came to the Town of Scarborough by way of a career change. Some did not have municipal experience and came from the private or nonprofit sectors. John Lotfey was hired as a Code Enforcement Officer in Scarborough five years ago after owning his own electrical business for many years. “Switching from the private sector as a self-employed electrician to a municipal inspector was easier than I thought it would be,” he says. “It's all about trust, relationships and good (customer) service and ethics.”

Working for a municipality offers rewarding work with some of the most visible and local impact to the community. “I feel lucky to work for the town I live in,” says Allison Carrier, Marketing & Communications Manager. “I have a greater sense of commitment to the work I do and feel proud of the impact I can have.” Engineering Technician Carrie Prescott also feels fulfilled by the difference she can have in her role. She was drawn to work for the Town because of the work she would be doing to support Scarborough’s MS4 stormwater program. “With all of the development going on in Scarborough I wanted to help protect its natural resources.” 

Employment with the Town of Scarborough also has its other benefits: relative job security, comprehensive medical insurance and retirement benefits, ample time off for a work life balance, and the opportunity for flexible work schedules including a 4-day work week. We enjoy exceptionally low rates of turnover with the vast majority of our vacancies as the result of retirements of staff or newly funded positions. Once here, our staff more often than not stay for the remainder of their career or plan to. 

Many of our staff have come to Scarborough from other municipalities. Kristen Barth was hired as Deputy Town Clerk in 2023 after working for two other southern Maine municipalities, predominantly in General Assistance, and has noted the cultural differences in Scarborough. “The first thing I noticed was how Scarborough has a small town feel even though it has a fairly large population. All departments including upper management are approachable and welcoming.” 

Kristen Barth joined Scarborough as our Deputy Town Clerk in May 2023.

Fire Chief Rich Kindelan was hired by the Town in 2018 as a Deputy Fire Chief of EMS before being promoted to Fire Chief in January 2022. He previously worked for three other communities as he rose through the ranks. In addition to being afforded opportunities he has not found in other communities, what Chief Kindelan enjoys most is “working in a community that proactively supports public safety and offers pathways for individual growth". His sentiment is reflected in our 2023 townwide survey, where residents rated public safety as the town service with the highest level of satisfaction at 93%.

Beyond the tangible benefits of employment, the most significant reason for the retention of our excellent staff is the support we receive from the community. In the most recent community survey nearly ninety percent (88.6%) of community respondents were satisfied with the customer service received from town employees, a measure nearly 50% higher than the national average (39.4%). Scarborough is proud to have an experienced, dedicated and community service focused staff.

Fire Chief Rick Kindelan was hired by the Town in 2018 and promoted to Chief in 2022.

Watch a recruitment video for the Scarborough Fire Department

Town Council Corner: The Illusion of Communication

By Don Cushing, Scarborough Town Council

The Nobel Prize winning playwright George Bernard Shaw famously said, “The single biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has taken place.” I don’t know about you, but I have, on occasion, operated under this illusion, thereby creating discord in my happy home. It seems that just because I heard myself say it (sometimes with my inside voice), doesn’t mean that the intended receiver got the message.

When I think about the effort our Town makes to communicate with residents, i.e. you, I wonder if Mr. Shaw’s observation may apply to us as well. We have a robust website that is the envy of our neighbors. You can find us on Facebook. The Town newsletter can make its way to your inbox, and you can read about us here in the Leader. All our meetings are either broadcast live or available on demand. Yet our community survey tells us that 55% of you are less than satisfied with the effectiveness of these tools. Moreover, 70% are unhappy with the Town’s level of involvement in local decision making.

Why isn’t our message getting through? Maybe it’s because we have neither a message or a strategy for communicating with you and engaging you on the issues that are important to you. 

To my understanding, we need to have a dialogue about growth, transportation, traffic, our schools and the effect that our choices and policies will have on taxes. These topics are complex and interrelated. Effectively communicating about them necessitates a sustained dialogue aimed at building a shared understanding of the problems, challenges and opportunities that we face; building consensus for our best course of action. 

Establishing and sustaining a dialogue with you on important issues can be achieved if we build a structure for determining what issues we should be discussed and how we should be connecting with you. To this end, the Communication Committee will draft a communications policy for consideration by the full council that provides a framework for how the Town Council and Town Staff communicate with the public. We will also develop and implement strategies to increase councilor visibility as well as council engagement in the community. We have and will be, working with Town management and staff to create and implement communications plans about the upcoming revaluation and budget process and other issues that are important to you.

I believe we have the tools and commitment to improve the lines of communication between you and your government. I hope you have noticed some evidence of this in recent weeks with respect to the revaluation and the schools. If you have ideas about other steps we can take, please let me know. You can call me at 207-303-4858 or email at dcushing@scarboroughmaine.org. I’d love to hear what you think.

Scarborough Town Council

Nick McGee, Chair • April Sither, Vice Chair • Jonathan Anderson • Jean-Marie Caterina • Don Cushing • Don Hamill • Karin Shupe

Town Council meets the first and third Wednesday of each month. Visit our Town Calendar for links to attend and view agendas.

Scarborough Public Library: Upcoming Programs

Board Game Night – Tonight!

Friday, March 15, 5:00-8:00pm

Register (Not required)

Bring the whole family, a couple of friends, or come on your own for this intergenerational party! We'll supply the games & snacks, you supply the playful spirit. We have new and classic games for adults & kids, but if you have a game you want to play with others, bring it along. This is a drop-in program, so come and go whenever you'd like.

Emerson Lecture: Ret Talbot

Tuesday, March 19, 6:00-7:00pm

Register

Ret Talbot is an award-winning independent journalist and writer who covers ocean issues and animals at the intersection of science and sustainability. His most recent book is Chasing Shadows, written with shark biologist Greg Skomal. At its heart, it is a conservation success story about restoring an apex predator to an ecosystem through the eyes of the scientist who quite unexpectedly found himself in the middle of it all. Talbot's work can be found in publications such as Discover Magazine, National Geographic, Mongabay, and Yale Environment 360. He lives on the coast of Maine with his wife, scientific illustrator Karen Talbot.

Nature Book Club

Wednesday, March 27, 6:00-7:00pm

Register (Use the child's info)

Join Deanna and Kelly Pietrzak from the Scarborough Land Trust for a Nature Book Club for kids ages 8-12. Each month we'll be talking about a few books, and it's your choice which you read! We'll also enjoy some pizza and do a short activity related to this month's book selection. 

Eclipsed in Wonder

With Edward Herrick-Gleason, Southworth Planetarium Director at USM

Tuesday, April 2, 6:00-7:30pm

Register

Prepare for the April 8th solar eclipse! This will be Maine's first total solar eclipse since July 1963. The next total eclipse visible from Maine won't occur until May 1, 2079! Why do eclipses occur? Why are they rare (or are they)? What can we expect to see? Even though the eclipse won't be total in southern Maine, the event still promises to be spectacular. We'll also discuss the entire timeline, from first contact to maximum to the final contact. We're expecting the April 8th eclipse to be the most watched eclipse in world history! Join us as we prepare for this celestial spectacle.

Monday – 9am to 5pm • Tuesday – 9am to 7pm • Wednesday – 9am to 7pm • Thursday – 9am to 7pm • Friday – 9am to 5pm • Saturday – 9am to 5pm • Sunday – Closed