Summer is in full swing, and there is so much more to come! After public events were put on hold in 2020, our staff is eager to invite the community back together through annual traditions like Summerfest and Concerts in the Park (only one left!). It's been a year and a half since our police and fire departments moved into the new Public Safety building adjacent to Town Hall, and the August 20th Open House will give you a chance to tour the facility. Read on for what's to come—from upcoming event dates to long-term visions—for our Scarborough community.

Planning an afternoon on the beach? We encourage a "carry-in/carry-out" model at our beaches & parks, so be sure to bring an extra bag for your disposable material. Thank you!

On Friday August 20, from 4:00–7:00pm, the Public Safety departments will open their new facility to the public for guided tours. Tours of the police, fire and rescue apparatus will be available, as well as light refreshments. At 6:00pm there will be a brief ceremony on the ground floor in the apparatus bay area to recognize the Public Safety Building Committee and the contractors and design professionals that helped bring this project to fruition. The ceremony will also include a ceremonial ribbon cutting that wasn't possible when they first moved in over a year ago, in April 2020.

Summerfest is back! After visiting the Public Safety Open House, come down to Summerfest on Friday, August 20 to meet local nonprofit organizations, listen to live music, grab a bite to eat, and watch the fireworks. Food will be available from a variety of local food trucks, including Eighty8 Donuts, Vinny’s Concessions, Portland Twist, and PB&M, starting at 6:00pm. Bring your chair or blanket to sit out and enjoy the live music from the band Plush from 7:00 to 9:00 pm, followed by a fireworks show at approximately 9:15 pm.

How to Register

Over the Phone: Call us at 207-730-4150 and pay by debit or credit card

In Person: Stop by the Hub at 418 Payne Road on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays from 10am-2pm to register and pay in person. We accept debit, credit, cash, or check in person.

Come down to Memorial Park on Thursday, August 5 at 6:30pm to enjoy live music by Yellow Brick Road, and Elton John tribute band. There will be concessions from the Rotary Club and a raffle! The event is free to attend for all ages and is the final Concert in the Park of our 2021 series. Click Here for the Facebook event to let others know you're going!

The urge the travel is growing, and with it the demand for passports. Processing times for passports have remained the same (up to 12 weeks for routine service and up to 6 weeks for expedited service), but mail delays are impacting when the U.S. Department of State is receiving applications for processing. Processing times begin the day they receive your application, not the day you mail it.

Routine service is now taking up to 18 weeks from the day an application is submitted to the day a new passport is received. The timeframe includes up to 12 weeks for processing and up to 6 weeks for mailing times on the front and back end. Expedited service (an additional $60) is taking up to 12 weeks from the day an application is submitted to the day a new passport is received. The timeframe includes up to 6 weeks for processing and up to 6 weeks for mailing times on the front and back end.

Due to these delays, the U.S. Department of State suggests applying at least six months before planned travel. Here are some options to help during this delayed period:

• Pay an extra $26.35 (per family) for 1-2 day delivery to the U.S. Department of State.

• Pay an extra $17.56 (per applicant) for 1-2 day delivery for the return of your completed passport.

• Adults with 10-year passports can renew them by mail instead of appearing in person. If you are renewing by mail, be sure to send your application via trackable mail, like USPS Priority, so you can track your application before it enters the system. Our office is required to do this when mailing out first-time applications and minor renewals.

Due to limited availability for urgent travel appointments, they cannot guarantee you can receive in-person service at a passport agency or center. They are prioritizing customers with life-or-death emergencies. They do not charge a fee to make an appointment. Visit their Get My Passport Fast page for more information.

The Town of Scarborough has made recent changes to the town’s food waste program, as of July 1: Household food waste (compost) drop-off locations have been streamlined to the Scarborough Public Works facility on 20 Washington Ave (behind the Holy Donut). The Pleasant Hill Road food waste drop-off location is no longer in use, but the Town hopes to be able to return to two food waste collection locations in the future.

Limiting the food waste drop-off location to a centralized location came as a result of budget cuts in the Fiscal Year 2022 budget review process. “Upon review, we realized that year on year, the cost of the food waste program was dramatically increasing,” says Public Works Director Mike Shaw. The $140.00 cost per ton for the program compares to $73.50 per ton for municipal solid waste, which is converted into electricity through the waste to energy (WTE) process at ecomaine’s facility. “Food waste is better used as compost, but the economics have to work for it to make sense.”

The Town of Scarborough is continuing to look for cost effective solutions for food waste drop off. “We understand that our community wants to lead a sustainable lifestyle, and we want to encourage that behavior through Town services,” says Fitch. “We will continue to assess the food waste program and make improvements that balance sustainability goals, convenience, and cost effectiveness.”

For questions regarding the Town’s food waste program and other sustainability efforts, contact Jami Fitch, Sustainability Coordinator, at jfitch@scarboroughmaine.org or (207) 730-4035.

In our July 1 newsletter, Councilor Jon Anderson shared an insightful update on the work of the Ad Hoc Downtown Committee (he serves as Town Council liaison to the committee). In his article he referenced a June 22 on-site meeting at The Downs, in which Crossroads Holdings (general contractor team for The Downs) presented a conceptual layout of the downtown area based on the committee’s weeks of work, research, and visioning sessions.

This proposed vision for the future layout of the downtown space was taken from the work of the committee and designed by architecture firm Goody Clancy. The initial design provides several visuals of what the downtown could be. Take a look at the slides from the presentation to see a vision for the downtown. This presentation is also available on the Downtown Committee page of our website.

The goal of the survey is to capture the opinions and comments of as many Scarborough residents as possible. The process requires a minimum sampling of 600 completed surveys from 4,200 mailings for results to be statistically valid. Surveys are expected to be mailed in early fall to a random sampling of homes. Digital access to the survey will be made available to anyone who does not receive the mailed survey and wishes to complete one. The survey should take no more than 15-20 minutes to complete and provides valuable information for future decision-making.

Data will be collected through October and compiled in report and dashboard format and available to all who want to review the results in the months to follow. Please be on the alert for this survey in the next couple of months and make an effort to participate and have your voice be heard.

Scarborough Town Council

Paul Johnson, Chair • Don Hamill, Vice Chair • Jonathan Anderson • Jean-Marie Caterina • John Cloutier • Ken Johnson

Town Council meets the first and third Wednesday of each month at 7 PM (third Wednesday only in July & August). Visit our online calendar for links to attend and view agendas.

The next municipal election will be held on November 2, 2021. Nomination papers are available in the Town Clerk's Office on Wednesday, August 4, 2021, for the following seats:

Town Council (Learn More)

• Two 3-year term seats

• One 1-year term seat

School Board (Learn More)

• Three 3-year term seats

Sanitary District (Learn More)

• Two 3-year term seats

Not less than 25 and not more than 100 signatures of qualified registered voters can sign the nomination papers. All nomination papers must be returned to the Town Clerk's Office by close of business on Wednesday, September 1, 2021. If you have any questions, please contact the Town Clerk's Office at (207) 730-4020.

Scarborough Schools welcomed their new superintendent, Geoff Bruno on July 1. Mr. Bruno has served as the Superintendent in Falmouth for the past 7 years. While directing the Falmouth school district, Mr. Bruno and his leadership team earned national recognition as Blue-Ribbon Schools of Excellence at elementary, middle, and high schools by the US Department of Education. Under Geoff’s leadership, they were also selected by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) to pilot a new K-12 accreditation process, the first public school in Maine to earn this distinction.

Prior to his move to Maine in June of 2014, Geoff spent most of his career as an educator in the greater Boston area, serving as a K-12 Executive Director for Curriculum & Instruction and Middle School Principal in Saugus, Assistant Principal in Hopkinton and Georgetown, and Head of School at Community Day Charter Public School in Lawrence, MA. In addition to his district and school leadership roles, Geoff taught middle school science and outdoor education.

Geoff resides in Falmouth with his wife and four daughters. This month he is busy meeting with all board of education members, district school leaders, teachers and staff, community and town leaders, and preparing for a full-time return to our schools and classrooms this Fall. Geoff is excited to become part of the Scarborough team and looks forward to the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead!

You may be seeing more Central Maine Power/Avangrid trucks around Scarborough lately. As part of an ongoing resiliency plan, CMP is undertaking a series of line projects know as Distribution Line Inspections where there may be replacement of poles and cross arms, line transfers, and correcting any deficiencies in the lines. These are performed to help improve the structural integrity, capacity, and reliability of CMP’s distribution system and help assure regulatory requirements.

Reinforcement projects will be ongoing throughout Scarborough over the next couple of months, so please be aware of any resulting impacts to traffic flow that this may cause. Click Here for more information from CMP about DLI projects. Stay tuned for additional details on a general timeline for scheduled work in Scarborough.

For additional information on DLI projects email outreach@cmpco.com or call (888) 267-0832.

Pay a visit to the inaugural exhibit of the commemorative quilt celebrating the Bicentennial of Maine's Statehood. Celebratory remarks will be at 2:30pm. Click Here to learn more and RSVP for the reception.

The Friends of the Library (FOSL) holds a large book sale each year with proceeds helping to support a variety of library programs and services. For the first time, this long-anticipated event will be happening in the Grandstand at The Downs.

Friday 9/10, 3pm-6pm (FOSL Members Only)

Saturday 9/11, 10am-4pm (Public)

Sunday 9/12, 12pm-3pm (Public)

Monday – 9am to 5pm • Tuesday – 9am to 7pm • Wednesday – 9am to 7pm • Thursday – 9am to 7pm • Friday – 9am to 5pm • Saturday – 9am to 1pm • Sunday – Closed

After a successful July series, the Scarborough Land Trust is excited to share new offerings for August. Programs take place at a variety of land trust properties at different times throughout the week and include events for all ages. Hear from specialists, trained staff members, and community volunteers! Topics include nature photography, identifying invasive species, astronomy hikes, tree tours, stream explorers, and more. Register on their website.

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