School days bring congestion: School buses are picking up their passengers, kids on bikes are hurrying to get to school before the bell rings, busy parents are trying to drop their kids off before work. It's never more important for drivers to slow down and pay attention than when kids are present - especially before and after school.

Construction on the new public safety building continues to proceed very well and slightly ahead of schedule. All of the various construction trades are now fully engaged with nearly 100 workers on site at any given time employed by a variety of subcontractors. Our General Contractor, Landry/French Construction, continues to organize those efforts and assure the work of all those subcontractors is coordinated and performed safely.

One of the most visible components of the project started this past week with the delivery of the communications tower. Over the next two weeks the tower will be assembled and erected in sections with the aid of a large crane. Antennas and cabling will be added and routed into the Network Operations Center (NOC) which is a large space on the service floor. The NOC houses all the radio, 911 phone system equipment, business phone, and computer network infrastructure for the entire facility.

Safe, reliable, and effective radio communications is absolutely essential to police, fire, and EMS, as well as all of the town's operational departments. This new tower was designed to improve the overall communications systems that our first responders use all day, every day.  To provide proper emergency responder radio coverage the new tower will be 180' tall with the tips of the primary antennas at 199'. That was important to eliminate the need for an FAA required beacon had we designed a tower higher than 200'.

The Scarborough Police Department is committed to ensuring that motorist traveling on the roads of Scarborough can do so in the safest manner possible. There are many external human elements that cannot be controlled which often result in a motor vehicle crash. Our goal is to help reduce these external elements by way of proactively patrolling and enforcing motor vehicle laws with specific consideration to Distracted Driving. The proactive enforcement of motor vehicle laws will ultimately reduce the amount of motor vehicle crashes which is the ultimate goal of traffic enforcement.

On September 19th, 2019, LD165 will take effect in the State of Maine. This law will restrict one of these distracted driving elements. LD165 is commonly known as "Hands Free Driving". More can be found on this law under M.R.S.A. Title 29-A ss. 2121-USE OF MOBILE TELEPHONES AND HANDHELD ELECTRONIC DEVICES WHILE OPERATING MOTOR VEHICLES PROHIBITED. 1 .  Prohibition.    A person may not operate a motor vehicle on a public way while using, manipulating, talking into or otherwise interacting with a handheld electronic device or mobile telephone, including but not limited to the use of a handheld electronic device or mobile telephone while the vehicle is temporarily stationary because of traffic, a traffic light or a stop sign. (Please read full law for additional information)

With any new law, there are many questions that are asked. The Scarborough Police Department encourages everyone to look up this law and read and understand all the parts of it. Below is a link to an overview of some answers to frequently asked questions about this law.

September is Library Card Sign-up Month, a time when libraries nationwide join together to remind parents, caregivers, and students that signing up for a library card is the first step towards academic achievement and lifelong learning. Every student in our community is eligible for a FREE library card. In fact, everyone who lives or works in Scarborough can get a Scarborough Public Library card for FREE.

 

The Library - your Library - provides access to a broad and deep collection and high-quality services that promote and support a lifetime of enrichment and learning in a welcoming, community-centered facility. Our adult and youth collections are carefully curated by a staff of masters-level librarians who bring decades of experience to the work they do. In addition to the robust materials found within the Library's walls, your Scarborough Public Library card also gives you access to millions of items from libraries statewide, eBooks and eAudiobooks in the Cloud Library, Flipster digital magazines, free video streaming on Kanopy, self-directed learning via Lynda.com, and a multitude of resources in the Maine Digital Library.

 

Do you have the smartest card in your wallet? Does your pre-school or school-aged child have his/her own library card? If your answer is "no," then there's no better time than September to stop by and get your library card!

The Planning Board is comprised of five regular members and two alternate members, all who are volunteer, residents of the Town of Scarborough appointed by the Town Council. The Board's principal responsibilities are the review of development applications to assure compliance with the Town's Land Use Ordinances, Subdivision and Site Plan Regulations and to conduct public hearings for proposed amendments the Town Land Use Ordinances.

When reviewing development applications the Board's decision must be supported by substantial evidence in the public record in accordance with the town's duly adopted ordinances. The tasks becomes challenging when the public record includes mixtures of conflicting evidence from the applicants' teams of consultants, opposing abutters and their consultants, the Board's staff and peer review consultants, and the Board members' own knowledge of the community and the site. In this quasi-judicial review capacity the Board is required to strictly interpret the ordinances as written; decisions by the Board are not made based on personal opinion. Applying the ordinances in this manner assures all parties a fair process by which certain outcomes can be anticipated. If the rules set forth by ordinance are adhered to the application will pass; if the rules are not met, the application will fail.

Over the years, there has been an increase in public participation in the development reviews. This enhancement has led to positive changes in citizen involvement during the Planning Board review process, as well as an overall improvement in the quality of development proposals. However one challenge for our volunteer, resident Board members is the rule of "ex parte communication". "Ex parte communication" means Board members are not allowed to discuss pending applications outside of a Board's public meeting, doing so may cause constitutional due process problems with the Board's process. Those wishing to communicate with the Board may do so by attending the meeting and speaking during public comment or by submitting correspondence through the Planning Department staff.

The volunteers on the Planning Board are valued contributors to the function of the community. They read and consider volumes of materials prior to each meeting, attend lengthy evening meetings, and make challenging decisions all while balancing their own daily activities of family, work, other volunteer responsibilities, etc. 

The end of summer doesn't mean the end of adventure. The month of September is the PERFECT time to think about applying for your passport! The fall and early winter months are the best times to apply because there are generally fewer people applying. Fewer people applying = faster processing times. With routine service taking 6-8 weeks to process, you will be set to travel ANYWHERE in the world as early as December without paying an expedite fee. Save that $60 expedite fee for souvenirs and apply today!

 

Scarborough Community Services accepts U.S. passport applications by appointment on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays between 9:00 am and 3:00 pm, so feel free to give us a call at 207-730-4150 and we would be happy to answer all of your questions. You may also access all passport information and applications at Travel.State.Gov.

On Monday, August 26th 2019, Wayne Judkins joined the Community Services Department as the new Parks Supervisor.

 

Wayne brings multiple skill sets to his new role as he previously worked in the aviation industry as a service technician, as an equipment operator with the City of Rockland, and as the Director of the Parks & Rec Departments in several coastal towns. Wayne also brings facilities maintenance experience having worked with the Scarborough Public Works Department as a maintenance worker since last August. In his new role, Wayne oversees and aids in the maintenance and operations of over 200+ acres of grounds including parks, trails, school grounds, town buildings, and athletic facilities to name a few. This transition to Community Services offers Wayne a new and exciting challenge while still remaining a member of the Town of Scarborough.