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Election Day, Tuesday, March 3
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Come cast your ballot in the Presidential Preference Primary and in the State Referendum on Tuesday, March 3, 2020 at the Scarborough High School. Polls open at 7:00 am and close at 8:00 pm.
Important! You do not need to be voting in the Presidential Preference Primary to vote on the State Referendum.
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Since 2013, the Scarborough Community Services Office has assisted the
U.S. Department of State with the acceptance of U.S. passport applications, and each year the need continues to grow. Passports applications are accepted in the Community Services Office by appointment only on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. We understand that many people cannot make these specific times work, especially when trying to juggle work and family life, so each year we offer a special Saturday Passport Day event in Scarborough.
This year's Passport Day in Scarborough will be held on Saturday, March 7, at Scarborough Town Hall. No appointment will be necessary during this event . . . just show up with everything you need and we would be happy to accept the application for you! We are also available to answer any passport questions and assist people in completing passport renewals.
Saturday, March 7
10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Scarborough Town Hall Council Chambers
259 US Route One, Scarborough
For more information on what is required to apply for a passport, please call the Scarborough Community Services Office at 207-730-4150, or you may visit the only official website for passports at Travel.State.Gov.
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Online Property Tax Payments Now Accepted
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Did you know you can pay your property taxes from anywhere using your computer or phone? Simply
head to our website and follow the prompts. We accept online property tax payments using credit cards, debit cards or e-checks. A third party convenience fee will be assessed for all online payments as follows: 2.30% of the total paid for debit or credit card payments and a $1.00 fee for e-check payments. The convenience fee will be assessed once you finalize your transaction at the third party site of JP Morgan Chase. The Town of Scarborough accepts VISA, MASTERCARD and DISCOVER.
The second half of your property tax bill is due by Monday, March 16, 2020. We hope this new service makes submitting that payment a little easier.
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Councilor's Corner
Ken Johnson, Town Council
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The Councilor's Corner is a place where councilors can share their viewpoint and understanding of items before the Council. My name is Ken Johnson and I am a first term councilor. I am the Communications Committee Chair, a member of the Ordinance Committee and liaison to the Planning Board.
Today's topic is Residential Growth. The Town of Scarborough has had a Growth Management Ordinance (GMO) in place since 2001. This ordinance was established after a town-wide
Growth and Services Report was performed that demonstrated that new residential development, most particularly new single-family home construction was occurring at such a rapid rate that it was stressing and overburdening municipal services. The GMO has been amended several times to align more with the 2006 Comprehensive Plan.
The Town Council has directed the Ordinance Committee to review the GMO and bring forward any recommendations of areas that may need attention. The Ordinance Committee has started this review process to understand what was initially put in place to manage growth and understand the changes to that policy over time. The review process will be comprehensive and will solicit input and recommendations from the Long Range Planning Committee, Planning Board, and Planning Department. Once recommendations have been defined and brought to the Town council for discussion the public hearings will begin. I will be sharing information of this review process using this newsletter. I would like to hear your thoughts on the current state of growth in our Town. Please send any and all questions and concerns on growth to our
Council email or
email me directly.
To stay informed on what is in the planning process for development you can review the
Planning Board agenda for items of interest. The Planning Board meets every three weeks. Other items that may be of interest regarding growth in Scarborough are linked below:
This newsletter is one place where you can 'Be Informed'. To get as many folks informed as possible with this publication I ask for your assistance. Please send this notice to friends and family members that are not current subscribers. We owe it to ourselves to 'Be Informed' and to help others join the effort. If there is any specific topic you would like to see addressed in the Councilor's Corner please
email the Town Council or
email me directly and it will be a topic in an upcoming newsletter. Thank you.
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Help Protect the Piping Plovers
Jami Fitch, Sustainability Coordinator
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Do you love spending time on Scarborough's scenic beaches?
Can you spare a couple hours each week to get outside and make a difference?
Do you want to help protect an endangered species?
Scarborough has 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 May - August), it's essential that beach goers know to steer clear of plover nests - that's where our volunteers come in! 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 must:
- Be willing to talk and interact with the public
- Attend an annual volunteer training and orientation
- Educate beach goers 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
email Jami Fitch, Sustainability Coordinator, or call 207.730.4035.
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Free Emergency Preparedness Workshop
B. Michael Thurlow, Fire Chief
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On Tuesday March 17th members from the Scarborough Fire Department and our Library Director, Nancy Crowell, will conduct a free, interactive, workshop on personal emergency preparedness in cooperation with the Scarborough Adult Learning Center. This free workshop will be held at the Scarborough High School cafeteria from 6:30 - 8:00 PM. No pre-registration is required.
The program will teach members of our community how to be self-sustaining in the event of a major weather event or area-wide emergency. Topics of discussion will include: assembling an emergency preparedness kit; creating a family emergency and communication plan; issues related to food, water, lighting, heat, health and hygiene; prevention and mitigation strategies you can do at home to protect household members, valuables and important documents; and info on community resources.
We are holding the workshop at the High School because it is designated as Scarborough's primary emergency shelter. One of the topics we intend to discuss, and facilitate questions about, is how to prepare your family and pets for a shelter stay, should that become necessary.
Please consider joining us on March 17th to learn how to become more self-sufficient in the days after an extended and/or area-wide emergency. If you have any questions about the workshop you may contact Nancy Crowell at the Scarborough Library
by email or call 207-883-4723, or
email me or call 207-730-4201.
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Celebrating Maine's Bicentennial in Scarborough
Lucy Norvell, Scarborough Public Library
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The Scarborough Public Library and Scarborough Historical Society are collaborating to bring a series of programs to our community in celebration of Maine's Bicentennial of Statehood. The following programs are open to the public and free to attend. They are made possible through the financial partnership of the Scarborough Public Library, the Scarborough Historical Society, and the Maine Humanities Council. For additional information, visit the
Scarborough Public Library's webpage about the Bicentennial Series. Please register for any of the three programs shown below by calling 883-4723 option 4 or by
emailing us.
Liam Riordan, Ph.D., Past and Present: Perspectives on Maine Statehood Sunday
Sunday, March 1, at 2 pm.
Matthew Edney, Ph.D.,Mapping Maine: The Land and Its Peoples, 1677-1842.
Sunday, March 22, at 2 pm
Dawnland: Documentary and Discussion
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Posted Roads
Leona Oceania, Public Works
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As of Monday, February 24th, 2020, roads have been posted for the Town of Scarborough. In short, this means that vehicles weighing over 23,000 pounds will not be allowed access on a posted road. The purpose of the restrictions is to prevent as much damage as possible to the roadways while they are thawing and in a vulnerable state. As the season shifts toward spring, and the temperatures rise, the melting snow and ice saturates the ground under the roads, and this weakens the base that the asphalt is laid upon. This weakened base cannot support the stress of heavy loads, and can result in costly and avoidable road damage.
Occasionally, a temporary lift of these restrictions may be possible when the roadways are "solidly frozen." For a roadway to be considered "solidly frozen," the air temperature must be 32°F or below and have no water showing in the cracks of the road. Both conditions must be met in order for Public Works to consider the temporary reprieve of travel restrictions. All exemption requests must be submitted and approved by the Public Works Department. Exempted vehicles include heating oil trucks, trash trucks, and school buses.
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Annual Financial Audit Report Available
Ruth Porter, Finance Director
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The Town Finance Department is pleased to announce to the citizens of Scarborough and to all interested parties the Town of Scarborough, Maine Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2019 (aka the annual audit) is available on the Town website.
The Comprehensive Annual Financial Report is prepared in accordance with Town Charter, State Statutes and accounting principles generally accepted (GAAP) in the United States of America. We encourage you to review all the information it has to offer. The Introductory Section includes the Letter of Transmittal, which is a summary of the Town's activity for the 2019 fiscal year as well as short term and long term planning goals. The Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) immediately following the Independent Auditor's Report provides a narrative introduction, overview, and analysis of the Town's financial statements. The Financial Section provides statements and schedules along with notes to supplement the information this section provides. The Statistical Section part of the annual report presents tables containing historic information as a context for understanding what the information in the financial statements, note disclosures and supplementary information says about the Town's overall financial health. We believe once you start reading it, you will be surprised how interesting all this information can be.
The Town of Scarborough has submitted and achieved the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting awarded by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for the Town's Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports. This is a prestigious award and in order to receive the Certificate of Achievement award, a government must publish an easily readable and efficiently organized comprehensive annual financial report. This report must satisfy both generally accepted accounting principles and applicable legal requirements. The Town of Scarborough has submitted and achieved a Certificate of Achievement for fourteen consecutive years. The Certificate of Achievement award is valid for a period of one year only. We believe that our current comprehensive annual report continues to meet the Certificate of Achievement Program's requirements and have submitted it to the GFOA to determine its eligibility for this certificate. This achievement is something the Town and its citizens should be very proud of.
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About the Scarborough Town Newsletter
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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.
Your newsletter team:
| Tody Justice, Town Clerk |
Lucy Norvell, Public Library |
| Stephen Kramer, Community Services |
Donald Begin, IT |
| Kailey Dubuque, Human Resources |
Brian Longstaff, Codes & Planning |
Kelly Johnston, Scarborough Public Schools
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Michael Thurlow, Fire Department |
| Kim Sperlich, Police Department |
Ruth Porter, Finance |
| Leona Oceania, Public Works |
Larissa Crockett, Administration |
| Magdalena Slawiec, SEDCO |
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Paul Johnson, Chair
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Don Hamill, Vice Chair
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Jean-Marie Caterina
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John Cloutier
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Betsy Gleysteen
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Peter Hayes
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Ken Johnson
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