August 1, 2019
Nomination Papers Available For Local Offices
Tody Justice, Town Clerk
Nomination papers are available in the Town Clerk's office on Wednesday, August 7, 2019, for seats on the Town Council, the  Board of Education  and the  Scarborough Sanitary Board of Trustees . All nomination papers must be returned to the Town Clerk's office by close of business on Wednesday, September 4, 2019. 

If you have any questions, please contact the Town Clerk's office at 730-4020.

Hurd Park Public Information Sessions
Please join us at the Pine Point Fire Station on either Thursday, August 15 or Tuesday, August 20 at 6:00 pm for an information session regarding a redesign of the Hurd Park lot at Pine Point. There will be an opportunity for residents to provide input on their preference for the lot design and plenty of time to ask questions about the process. Your voice matters, please come add it to the conversation!

Join Scarborough Community Services for the BIGGEST event of the year! We will be wrapping up the Summer of 2019 with fun games, excellent food and yummy desserts, and entertainment for all ages.

The Northeast Buccaneers will be on hand, looking to recruit some new crew members, so be ready to swab the deck, you scallywags! Treasure maps will be available at the Community Services info booth so kids can collect "gold doubloons" for admission into the Pirate Encampment. Once there, you be able to take pictures with Captain Jay, his crew, and a few furry pirate friends before getting "ship-shape" for pirate training.

The musical entertainment this year is Hello Newman, Maine's premier alternative rock band. Their repertoire consists of all the essential '90s and '00s alternative rock, ska, rap, and swing songs that are guaranteed to get people up and dancing. Hello Newman will be rocking the stage from 7:00 to 9:00 pm, wrapping up just in time for the fireworks show set to begin at 9:15 pm.

For event details and list of activities, please be sure to visit us online .

Residential Revaluation Update
Emily Behn, Assessing Department
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The residential revaluation is in its final stages of review. We appreciate your patience and cooperation with this process. KRT Appraisal will send letters containing the new and previous assessments by Friday, August 2. The purpose of a revaluation is to make sure all properties are assessed at market value. The new assessment will reflect the market value of the property as of April 1, 2019. Please note that the new assessments will be effective for Fiscal Year 2019-2020.

In August you will have an opportunity to set up a 15 minute appointment with KRT Appraisal to discuss any concerns about your new valuation. These appointments will be held at the Town Hall, where you will meet with a representative of KRT Appraisal to review your property card. The letter you receive in the next week will contain more information about scheduling an appointment.

If you do not receive your letter by August 9, please contact the Assessing Office at (207) 730-
4060, or visit our office on the lower level of the Town Hall, Room 25. We are open 8 to 4,
Monday through Friday. As always, please check with us to make sure you are receiving any
property tax exemptions or assistance for which you might be eligible.

Dunstan Corner Adaptive Traffic Controls
Leona Oceania, Public Works
Traffic signal operations are a top priority for the Town of Scarborough. Not only do well-coordinated traffic signals increase safety along our streets, but they also improve travel efficiency, cut down on red-light delays, and save motorists' time and fuel.
 
Drivers may have noticed some changes in the way the traffic lights function in the Dunstan Corner area of Scarborough. In late July 2019, the Town activated an adaptive traffic control system in Dunstan corner to include the intersections of US Route One and Harlow Street, Payne Road, and Broadturn Road/Pine Point Road. An adaptive traffic control system (ATCS) is designed to intelligently respond to driver patterns and to service signals most efficiently based on traffic demand.
 
This adaptive traffic control system uses radar to monitor traffic volume and artificial intelligence to use real-time data to respond to traffic conditions.  With this installation, motorists will notice the following:
  • Global traffic coordination in Dunstan Corner:
    • The ATCS helps to keep groups of vehicles moving through the Dunstan Corner intersections. During an in-depth configuration process, Town staff worked to study traffic patterns in the area, and built models that allow traffic to flow smoothly.
  • Local optimization at each Dunstan Corner intersection:
    • The ATCS monitors traffic at each intersection in real time so that side streets are served based on actual demand. The system is designed to give green lights to the lanes that need them only for the amount of time necessary and then move to where the system sees the next-highest demand.
If this is an intersection that you travel through regularly, you will want to note that the traffic flow will alter from the sequence that you have become accustomed to. Again, the ATCS will accommodate the streets that have the highest demand for only the amount of time they need. This means that the lights may turn green in an unpredictable fashion that is different from the cycle-based pattern you are familiar with. This also means that the lights may change more quickly than you may expect. Rest assured that the system respects the mandated minimum times for green and yellow lights and ensuring an all-red period when lights are changing.
 
Questions? Contact us by email or call us at 207.730.4400.

Calling All Scarborough Quilters
Catherine Morrison, Scarborough Public Library
The Scarborough Historical Society and Scarborough Public Library invite quilters from the community to create a quilt square representing a suggested theme related to the town and its history. Squares will be sewn into a commemorative quilt to recognize the Bicentennial of Maine's Statehood being celebrated in March of 2020.
 
Fifty completed squares are needed by Friday, November 1, 2019 to make this project possible. A Scarborough Bicentennial Quilt information center will be on display at the Scarborough Public Library, 48 Gorham Road, through Monday, September 2, 2019. Quilters will find instructions, a sign-up sheet with themes, and 10.5" X 10.5" muslin squares to be used as their base.
 
The finished quilt will be displayed on a bed once owned by Governor William King, Scarborough native and Maine's first Governor. The bed is part of the Scarborough Historical Society's collection. This display will be included in a community Bicentennial programming series being planned by the Scarborough Historical Society and Scarborough Public Library for March of 2020.
 
For additional information, visit the Scarborough Bicentennial Quilt page on the Library's website.
 
Councilor's Corner: Affordable Housing
Bill Donovan, Town Councilor
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Last month I shared with you two tools the Town of Scarborough uses to build an effective Affordable Housing program. If you missed that article you can read it here. This month I want to continue the conversation by discussing a few more ways the Town helps promote housing options for people across the income spectrum.

Our third tool is the strategic use of Contract Zones (agreements to modify the zoning so long as the changes still conform with the spirit of the zone) and Tax Increment Financing zones (TIF's collect taxes from improvements in the district that can then be used to pay for infrastructure improvements like roads and sewer).   Contract Zones have been used to create Affordable Housing reserve funds. The Beacon at Gateway contributed $700,000 last year and Piper Shores will soon be contributing $250,000, both under Contract Zones. Scarborough used funds from this account to allow the Southgate project at Dunstan to move forward. TIF's have provided tax rebates for both Bessey Commons  and Southgate and $400,000 has been committed to building 40 additional units at Bessey Commons (called Bessey Commons II). As a part of our growth management strategy the agreement with The Downs severely restricts the total number of single family homes to be built within the TIF district.

A fourth tool Scarborough has used is "mandated" Affordable Housing.  The Town requires in the Crossroads Zoning District, occupied by Scarborough Downs, that 10% of all housing be affordable. Projections place that number at potentially 200 housing units over the next 15-20 years.  While people can be skeptical of projections, already the Scarborough Housing Alliance has been evaluating proposals for over 70 units of affordable senior housing at The Downs and several units that are not age-restricted are built and being offered for sale.  A key requirement for successful mandated Affordable Housing is a clear set of rules and regulations governing ownership over time, something Scarborough's Housing Alliance dedicated much time to this year.

I will end by answering a frequently asked question.  Do all of the recently constructed 1 and 2 bedroom apartments (Beacon at Gateway, Carrier Woods, etc) add costs that outweigh their property tax contribution? The Town Council is presently studying our managed growth policies (yes, Scarborough already restricts the annual number of building permits) and the most recent data shows that it is the turnover of long-existing conventional housing that is by far the biggest source of increased school enrollment. 

The future looks bright for Scarborough thanks to decades of work by its many public officials who have contributed to the effort. Join us in supporting our community.  Call Tody Justice (730-4031), our esteemed Town Clerk, and ask what committees are looking for new members.

Public Safety Building Update
Thomas Perkins, Owner's Representative
This summer's progress on the project has been truly remarkable. The crews have substantially completed the structural steel frame for the building, and the interior and exterior drywall framing for the upper outside walls and rooms is also in full stride.   Steel stairs sections are being installed to facilitate access to the elevated floor decks, and the roofers are laying the membrane roof over the flat sections of the Apparatus Bay. No doubt you have likely noticed the trusses going up on the Route One side of the building, marking the top of the building peak and establishing the final visual profile of this substantial building.

On the ground, site crews have installed a new 16" water line that will not only service the new public safety building but also provide an interconnection of the water main system between Sawyer Road and Municipal Drive for area residents. Crews from Unitil have been installing the gas line in Route One, and the new entrance to Durant Drive is nearly ready for pavement. Around the site, dozers and excavators are shaping slopes and drive surfaces in preparation for final treatments scheduled for this fall and early next summer (some of it after occupancy due to the planting season).

One other major milestone will occur just after Labor Day, and that will be the erection of the systems-critical communications tower. The 180' tall structure, whose deep concrete foundations were installed earlier this spring, will be erected in sections adjacent to the main entrance of the building and provide critical communications infrastructure for the town's public safety needs. In accordance with the co-location requirements of the town's communications tower ordinance, five spaces on the tower have been reserved for cell phone carrier leases. This will not only greatly improve reception for the townspeople of Scarborough, but also provide a reliable income stream through tower lease agreements with interested providers.

Click here for the complete article

Sustainable Scarborough: Recycling 101
Jami Fitch, Sustainability Coordinator
We're excited to welcome ecomaine for a workshop all about recycling! Join us for a fun, interactive, and informative evening about what can (and can't) be recycled and where our trash goes once it leaves the curb.
 
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
6:30 p.m.
Scarborough Public Library
 
Round up your friends and neighbors, bring your questions, and join us to talk trash and recycling!

Meet Your New Town Employees
Kailey Dubuque, Human Resources
On Monday, July 1 st , Jessica Larose joined the Scarborough Police Department as a new Patrol Officer.
In 2017, Jessica graduated from Southern New Hampshire University, earning her Bachelors of Science in Environmental Science. Her experience is broad within the environmental field, including academic work on eagle conservation and ocean acidification projects, as well as completing an internship with Skidaway Island State Park in Savannah Georgia as a Park Ranger. 

Jessica has always been passionate about helping others, whether it be animals, the environment, or community members; even as a child, she aspired to be in law enforcement. These qualities make Jessica a great addition to the Town of Scarborough and the Police Department.


On Monday, July 29 th , Owen Sprague joined the Town of Scarborough as a new Driver/Grounds Laborer. Owen is a graduate of Deering High School, and brings with him several years of experience with the Town of Porter, the Town of Limerick, and the City of Westbrook as a Firefighter/EMS. Owen also has experience with the City of Westbrook, the City of Portland, and a local Saco gym in grounds keeping and building maintenance positions. 

In his new role, Owen joins the Public Works & Community Services Departments, aiding in both department's operations. Owen's experience in these related fields make him a great fit for this unique position, as the newest member of the Town of Scarborough staff.  

Welcome Jessica and Owen, we're glad you've chosen to join our team!


About the Scarborough Town Newsletter
Welcome to the official newsletter of the Town of Scarborough, Maine.  Brought to you by a team of Town staff, our mission is to keep you informed about town events and activities.  

Please note that the newsletter articles are intended to be brief and will often point you back to a link on the Town's Website or Facebook page. The website is the heart of the communication network within town and is the central repository for information on Town government.

Thanks for reading!  If you have ideas for stories, please email us.  

Your newsletter team:

Tody Justice, Town Clerk Catherine Morrison, Public Library
Audra Keenan, Community Services Sean Bushway, IT
Heidi McNinch, Human Resources Brian Longstaff, Codes & Planning
Kelly Johnston, Scarborough Public Schools
Michael Thurlow, Fire Department
Kim Sperlich, Police Department Ruth Porter, Finance
Leona Oceania, Public Works Larissa Crockett, Administration
Magdalena Slawiec, SEDCO


2019 Scarborough Town Council
Peter Hayes, Chair
Katy Foley, Vice Chair
Jean-Marie Caterina
John Cloutier
William Donovan
Don Hamill
Paul Johnson