December 15, 2019
In Memory of Jim Durant
Robbie Moulton, Police Chief
Jim Durant was one of the founding members and was proud to serve as a Volunteer In Police Services (VIPS). His work, and the work of his VIPS partners allow our officers to concentrate on the more technical aspects of policing. Jim made the ultimate sacrifice when he was struck by a car while directing traffic so that officers could concentrate on their investigation.
 
Jim Durant was an honorable man who proudly served his country as a soldier in the Army; a wounded and decorated combat veteran in Vietnam. In 1985, Jim was honored with the Red Cross Certificate of Merit for saving the life of a co-worker. The certificate is the highest honor that the Red Cross can bestow upon an individual for meritorious service and was signed by President Ronald Reagan. Jim retired from the Federal Aviation Administration in 1996 after 25 years of employment. He also worked for L.L. Bean in Freeport as a Security Officer and First Responder.
 
For many that would have been enough, he certainly had earned the right to kick back and spend time with his lovely wife Janine, their three children Darlene, Jacqueline, and Christopher, and four granddaughters. But that's not who Jim was; his desire to serve his community carried over into his retirement years. He took great pride in his work with VIPS, most notably assisting people with launching their boats at Pine Point and making sure they had everything they needed for a safe boating experience.
 
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Holiday Trash Collection Schedule
Leona Oceania, Public Works
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Here is some helpful information for the upcoming holiday season:

There will be no trash collection on Wednesday, December 25, 2019. Trash collection will be "bumped" by one day for the remainder of that week:
  • Normal Wednesday (12.25.19) collection will be on Thursday (12.26.19)
  • Normal Thursday collection (12.26.19) will be on Friday (12.27.19)
  • Normal Friday (12.27.19) collection will be on Saturday (12.28.19)
There will be no trash collection on Wednesday, January 1, 2020. Trash collection will be "bumped" by one day for the remainder of that week:
  • Normal Wednesday (1.1.20) collection will be on Thursday (1.2.20)
  • Normal Thursday collection (1.2.20) will be on Friday (1.3.20)
  • Normal Friday (1.3.20) collection will be on Saturday (1.4.20)
Please also remember that we offer free Christmas tree pickup during the month of January. Please place your Christmas tree (free of all decorations) curbside on the same day as your trash collection, anytime during the month of January, and we will pick it up. The Public Works crew picks up the trees separate from the trash collection - so if you see that your trash has been collected but your tree has not (or vice versa), do not fear!

If snow/adverse weather is in the forecast, please place your Christmas tree a bit back from the curb so it does not get buried by the snowplows.

Questions? Contact us by email or by phone at 207.730.4400.

Have a safe and happy holiday season!

Town Hall Holiday Season Schedule
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The Town Hall will be closed on:

December 24, 2019 starting at 12:00 pm
December 25, 2019 all day
January 1, 2020 all day

Pubic Safety Building Update
Thomas Perkins, Owners Representative, Dirigo Acrhitectural
With winter closing in on the bustling businesses and visitors to Oak Hill, the crews working to construct the new Public Safety Building continue to be hard at work applying paint, ceramic tile, and other finishing touches on the Town's newest asset. A collaborative effort of about 80 skilled workers each day apply their talents at the site, with dozens more in support roles ensuring deliveries of materials and other resources arrive on time to progress the work. The favorable weather from the spring, summer and fall has borne the fruit of a now watertight building, with the masonry and metal panel façade treatments nearly complete, creating a dry and warm interior environment required for applying the interior finishes. Site plantings, paving and parking lot striping were also placed during this period of fair weather such that they are in place and ready for the spring opening.

From a schedule perspective, the project is within days of its original projected end date. Throughout the course of construction, the project team overcame many challenges together in order to maintain this pace and plan. The chosen project delivery method proved itself the correct choice time and time again, and the result is a very high-quality structure that will serve the Town well for decades to come.

Click here for the complete article

A Reminder from the Tax Office
Lisa Saulle, Tax Collector
Recently, notices were sent to residents that have a balance due from their 2017 taxes. The deadline to pay is December 20, 2019 by 10:00 am or an automatic foreclosure will result. Payments made between now and December 20 must be in the form of cash, certified check, bank check or money order.

If you still owe taxes on a 2017 property tax lien, covering the period July 1, 2017 - June 30, 2018, please contact the Tax Office at 207-730-4010 to discuss your balance due.

If this is your primary residence, you may be eligible to enter into an installment sales agreement with the Town of Scarborough, please contact the Assistant Town Manager, Larissa Crockett by phone, 207-730-4149 or by email.  
Daycare Do's and Don'ts
Brian Longstaff, Zoning Administrator
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There has been a sharp uptick in the number of inquiries and applications from folks wanting to establish or expand Child Daycare uses in Scarborough over the past few months. Apparently there is a definite shortage of available daycare, particularly for before and after-school situations, so people are considering the opportunity to fill this gap. For that reason, I thought it might be a good time to review Scarborough's zoning and land use regulations with regard to the various types of Daycare establishments. Some of these regulations may warrant some serious decision making for current or prospective Daycare providers.

Click here for the complete article

School Safety Update
David Yeo, Scarborough High School and Frank Plourd, School Resource Officer
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The Scarborough School Department works year-round to keep our schools safe.  One of the ways we do that is by participating in two active safety committees, the HSSAT (Health Safety Security Advisory Team) and the DEMT (District Emergency Management Team). These teams meet regularly throughout the year to plan and organize improvement strategies.  Membership includes:  Police, Fire, and EMS, district school administration, district building administration, school nurses and school transportation. These teams develop training and procedures for the district, including scenario based training, such as tabletop exercises. 

Table top exercises include building administration, members of the crisis and leadership teams, school resource officers, building safety team members, and representatives from Police, Fire and EMS.  Different scenarios are read to the group and the group "talks" through how the incident would be managed while following the schools well-developed emergency plans and procedures.  This provides everyone an opportunity to review specific areas of the plan which may need to be furthered refined or developed to provide the most effective response. 

Click here for the complete article

The Presidential Primary is Coming Soon
Tody Justice, Town Clerk
Vote in advance of the March 3, 2020, Presidential Preference Primary & State Referendum Election by Absentee Ballot.  Although ballots are not available at this time, you can request an Absentee Ballot by completing the Application for an Absentee Ballot form and mailing it to:

Scarborough Town Clerk's Office
P.O. Box 360
Scarborough, ME 04070-0360 or  request an absentee ballot online. As soon as the absentee ballots become available they will be mailed to you.

For further information on Absentee Voting and Voter Registration, please visit the State of Maine online or contact the Scarborough Town Clerk's Office at 207-730-4020.

Santa and Isabella in the Park
Stephen Kramer, Program Coordinator, Community Services
On Saturday, December 7th Community Services held their annual "Santa in the Park"  event at Memorial Park. This year Scarborough Community Services Before/After Care held a paper ornament decorating contest at their three primary school sites; Eight Corners, Pleasant Hill and Blue Point. This year the winner was Isabella Pilsbury, a second grader at Eight Corners! Isabella got the opportunity to ride to the event on the fire truck with Santa as well as be the first to turn the Christmas tree lights on! 

Congratulations Isabella! 

Congratulations and Thank You David Bouffard
Larissa Crockett, Assistant Town Manager
Dave left his first retirement from the State of Maine Property Tax Division to come lead our Assessing Department. In his time here he has pulled us through a full revaluation over two years and navigated the choppy waters of assessment litigation. 

Being an Assessor is not an easy job. Property taxation is not just technical and complex it is also an art. Dave has a unique ability to keep his calm and kindness present while working with property owners that are at times scared, misinformed, or angry. His inner moral compass is firmly set to fairness and honesty, traits that made him a true asset to our team.

Thank you Dave for sharing your talents and experience with us for the past two years. May your second retirement stick and may you have nothing but good golf days in your future!

Thank You and Good Luck Jo Anne Sizemore
Kelly Johnston, Scarborough Public Schools
December 31, 2019 will mean a lot of different things for a lot of different people.  For members of the Scarborough school community (and beyond), it will mean the end of an era.  Our outstanding and amazing Assistant Superintendent, Jo Anne Sizemore, will be retiring from Scarborough Public Schools (SPS) after over 40 years of dedicated service.

Jo Anne has touched the lives of many and will be greatly missed by countless more.  Aside from her positions with SPS, she has been part of several other area organizations.  She has been an adjunct professor with USM in their Educational Leadership program, as well as an active member with USM's Educational Leadership Advisory Committee.  She has been a member of the Cumberland County Superintendent's Association, the Greater Sebago Alliance, the Scarborough Vision Committee, the Maine Principals' Association, Educate Me program, and many more groups over her 40 year span.
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
Stephen Kramer, Community Services Don Begin, IT
Kailey Dubuque, 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


Scarborough Town Council
Paul Johnson, Chair
Don Hamill, Vice Chair
Jean-Marie Caterina
John Cloutier
Betsy Gleysteen
Peter Hayes
Ken Johnson