We made it to February! How is 2022 going for you so far? Scarborough is a wonderful place to be year-round, and winter is no exception. Our Town staff and departments are ensuring that seasonal services are met, and that there are an array of community programs to enhance our quality of life. The Town Council is looking long term at how we are managing for future needs for our growing community. Read on for the key stories happening now.

Just over a year ago, Scarborough Community Services migrated to their own space, "The Hub", at 418 Payne Road (across from Shaws). Since then they have ramped up creative program offerings for all ages, available all year long. You'll see a snapshot below, but be sure to check their page on our website every so often for the latest updates.

Deputy Chief John O’Malley is retiring on February 4 after 30 years with the Town of Scarborough.

O’Malley was drawn to law enforcement as a career because he felt it was an honorable profession and one he could always be proud of. He began at the Town of Scarborough 30 years ago as a reserve officer. Scarborough was the only department in the state that he wanted to work for because of its outstanding reputation, and after two years as a reserve officer and three application processes, he was successfully promoted to full time police officer.

Early in his career, O’Malley was fortunate enough to observe and work with many area departments and different federal agencies. He quickly learned that “Scarborough had the finest people—not only in the department, but in other town departments as well.” He also learned that the citizens of Scarborough showed great support for our police department, as did the Town Council. He bragged about Scarborough every time he had the chance.

Deputy Chief O’Malley has had several career accomplishments over his three decades with the department. He attended the FBI National Academy as one of only three Sergeants in the 350-person class from all over the world and as the only officer from Maine. He served as a Cadre at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy and assisted in training new officers for the entire state. He was also selected as the first municipal officer to ever be assigned to the Maine State Police Emergency Vehicle Operation Course as an instructor, and because of that Scarborough PD was the first municipal department in the state to train their officers in the use of the PIT maneuver to safely end high speed chases.

O’Malley was amongst a group of officers that was selected to represent the State of Maine in President Bush's second inaugural parade. And with Scarborough's help, he was able to complete his college degree and go on to receive my Master's in Criminal Justice Administration as well as an MBA. “I have been amazingly fortunate to have wonderful mentors for every part of my career that have allowed me to accomplish these things, without these people none of this would have been possible.”

O’Malley says he will miss all of the people he has worked with over the years in our Town and departments. Additionally, “the citizens of Scarborough have continued to show their support for our agency, and that cannot be overlooked or understated.”

In his retirement, O’Malley plans to play more golf, ride his motorcycle and continue his teaching career with Husson University.

Online real estate and personal property tax payments will be unavailable on Friday, February 11, 2022 starting at 12:00 a.m. through Sunday February 13, 2022 at 12:00 a.m. for a system upgrade. Walk-in customers may still conduct business at the Town Hall on Friday, February 11, 2022 during normal business hours. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Winter Theater (Ages 8-12)

Mr. Reagan's Theater program is back by popular demand! Learn theatrical skills in a fun, safe, and creative environment through improvisational games, children’s plays, and skits. The program concludes with a short performance for parents and friends. No theater experience is necessary.

Teen Craft Night: Valentine's Edition (Gr 6-8) Friday, February 11, 6-8pm

All teen nights include a pizza dinner and drinks. For more information or to preregister, email comserv@scarboroughmaine.org.

Prepare for the spring season by learning the very basics of lacrosse. Participants will compete in various lacrosse games like storm lacrosse, chumash, and ultimate. Older and more skilled players will play in small-field lacrosse games.

Join us for this 3-hour Lego extravaganza! The theme for this Saturday's is "Fire Brigade" and the session includes 3-4 unique Lego builds, Lego challenges, games, and free-building time. Individual builds may include a fire motorcycle, an ATV and a helicopter.

All youth and adult program details can be found in the Winter/Spring Brochure.

Join our ongoing exercise programs at the Hub:

Jazzercise, Tuesdays & Thursdays, 5:30-6:30pm

SoulFusion, Wednesdays 6:30-7:30pm

Details for all adult programs that are currently available can be found in the online Winter Brochure. The brochure will continue to be updated with new programs, so check back!

Challenge your brain to a night of family trivia, hosted by Coast 93.1 DJ Dan Tarsetti! Enjoy pizza, snacks, and prizes with your friends and family while answering questions for all ages. $15 per team and should have 2-6 players.

Scarborough Community Services maintains two skate ponds open to the public during the winter season at no cost.

20 Municipal Drive (behind the maintenance garage between the turf field and Wentworth School)

Weekdays, 2:00pm to 9:00pm

Weekends, 8:00am to 9:00pm

Before You Go: Check the Scarborough Community Services Facebook page for daily status updates.

February 11: S'mores Social at the Skating Ponds

Join Community Services on select Friday evenings this winter for skating to music, free s’mores and hot cocoa, and warming by firepits. The next one is on February 11 from 4:30-7:00pm (one more after that on February 25). We hope you'll join us!

Check out these upcoming programs:

Coffee with a Cop: Friday, February 4, 9:30am at the Hub, Free (no registration required)

Senior Living at Portland Stage: Thursday, February 10, 1:15-5:00pm

Southworth Planetarium Trip: Thursday, February 17, 12:30-3:00pm

Valentine's Day Tea: Monday, February 14, 10am-12pm

Kittery Trading Post Trip: Thursday, February 24, 9am-2:30pm

Prices vary; Find details and registration links online. View the digital brochure or pick up a paper copy at the Community Services Hub (418 Payne Road) or Scarborough Public Library.

We're always looking for new and exciting ideas for programming and events. If you have any special talents or unique knowledge that you would like to share with the community, we would love to partner with you! Send an email to comserv@scarboroughmaine.org.

Now Hiring: Summer Camp Counselors

This seasonal position with Scarborough Community Services is a great job for high school students or college students home for the summer. It can be full- or part-time; ages 16+. Gain work experience in child care and education. Click Here to learn more.

Project GRACE and friends are teaming up for a fuel assistance fundraiser to raise $25,000 with their 10th Annual Fuel Rally. Give Now online or at the Rally.

Pick up a quart prepared by Bread & Butter Catering Co. with a $10 suggested donation (pre-order here or call 883-5111). Each 'heat and serve' quart of smoked brisket chili or haddock chowder serves two generous portions and comes with a side of cornbread.

The Friends of Scarborough Library "Grab Bag" Book Sale will be happening curbside at the Fuel Rally. A $5 cash donation to the Library buys an entire bag of books. Bags have been packed by genre: fiction, non-fiction, children's, young adults, biography, & more—your choice!

Imagine. Discover. Connect.

Scarborough Lions are holding a convenient curbside bottle and can drive to benefit the fuel fund. How It Works: Sign up online for pick up. Provide your name and contact info and your street address so the Lions know where to pick up your returnables. Put them in a bag or box by the curb on Saturday morning for the Lions volunteers to pick up. All the proceeds will help a neighbor keep warm this winter.

What is Project GRACE? Project GRACE is a Scarborough-based nonprofit with a mission of improving the lives of Scarborough neighbors by identifying both those in need and those willing to share their gifts, and coordinating the interchange in a compassionate, confidential manner.

There is snow in the forecast again... If you're looking to pick up a new winter activity, participate in our Adopt a Hydrant Program to support the Scarborough Fire Department.

The Adopt a Hydrant program encourages citizens to help with the monumental task of clearing hydrants after a snowstorm. Adopt the hydrant closest to your home and shovel it for us. Our crews must be proactive with clearing all of them after every storm, so they go out to hand shovel them and make sure they are available and ready for use if they're needed. Each hydrant that a citizen clears speeds up the work for our firefighters and helps keep our apparatus off the roads. There is no need to notify the department about a hydrant you have adopted as this is an informal volunteer program. Your help is very much appreciated, and as they say the life you help save, may be your own!

Have you started making plans for the Valentines’ Day? Scarborough restaurants and stores are ready for you to celebrate with them! Check out Scarborough Economic Development Corporation (SEDCO)'s list of restaurants and other businesses celebrating all weekend long. Those open on Monday encourage you to make early reservations and look for some special offers. Make sure to visit other local businesses for the Valentine’s Day, too. They will be excited to see you!

Some establishments shared their plans for the Valentine’s Day with us:

♡ Pine Point Grill is celebrating with a special menu by Chef Jim and his team.

♡ O‘Reilly’s Cure will have a harpist play on Saturday, the 12th from 6-8pm.

♡ Nothing Bundt Cakes is counting on a great day – improving over last year.

♡ Nonesuch River Brewing is serving Chicken & Waffles for this Vday.

♡ Lois’ Natural Marketplace has special wines, candles, chocolates as a great gift for your Valentine.

♡ The Holy Donut says “What better way to say I love you than donuts – we hope this never changes.”

The Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry has designated February as Browntail Moth Awareness Month and is launching a “Knock Out Browntail” campaign. The winter months are the ideal time to identify and remove their webbed nests from trees. We'll be sharing helpful posts on our Facebook page throughout the month, but start by listening to a recent Maine Calling episode to learn how browntail moths and other pests threaten the environment and human health—and what can be done to reduce harm.

Every year, our Public Works department collaborates with neighboring Saco and Biddeford to provide Household Hazardous Waste Collection Days at no cost to residents. Proof of residency is required.

This year's dates have just been confirmed:

May 14: Scarborough (8am-Noon)

July 9: Saco (8am-Noon)

September 10: Biddeford (8am-Noon)

Accepted materials include anti-freeze, batteries, brake fluid, degreasers, drain

cleaners, motor oil, floor cleaner, fluorescent bulbs, furniture polish, gasoline, herbicides, insecticides, kerosene, moth balls, paint thinner, pesticides, 1 lb. propane cylinders (no tanks), rodent killers, sealants, smoke detectors, spot remover, wood stain, and more.

View the full flyer here.

There is much that can be gleaned from the community survey that was conducted in Fall 2021. The results can be viewed in a full findings report that was put summarized by the survey consultant, or take it a step further by using the new interactive dashboard. This gives the ability to break down data by different demographic variables or geographic areas of town.

Of the 419 dwelling units built in 2021, 400 of them were in the designated high growth areas of town and 19 of them were in the limited growth areas in town. The reality is that “The Blob” was contained - and will continue to be contained - primarily in The Downs neighborhood. As a reminder, when completed, The Downs neighborhood is expected to:

• House approximately 4,000 people in approximately 2,000 dwelling units.

• Contain over 1,000,0000 square feet of commercial space.

• Include a new grocery store and wholesale club.

• Be home to IDEXX with hundreds of employees.

• Create a new town center with shops, eateries, and greenspace.

• Possibly be home to a new town-owned pool and/or new primary school.

• Possibly be home to a new Community Services Hub offering more childcare and senior programming.

• Possibly be home to a privately-owned ice rink and athletic fields that could be leased/rented by the schools and residents.

Some of this list is exciting and some of this list is scary; but, all of it is challenging to navigate. We will be navigating this list for the next three to five years.

Scarborough is known for its many distinct neighborhoods. Many of these neighborhoods house residents that reflect the desires of people during the growth period they were built in. It is time to accept that there is a new neighborhood in town being built in the growth period from 2015-2025. They value working from home, walking the dog on a sidewalk, and the sense of community and mutual responsibility required to live in such close proximity to each other. We could call The Downs neighborhood, and the people that live there, “The Blob” but it is probably a lot nicer to call them our neighbor.

Want to share your thoughts on an issue? Councilors can be contacted via email at towncouncil@scarboroughmaine.org.

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

Town Council meets the first and third Wednesday of each month. Visit our online calendar for links to attend and view agendas.

Warren Woods Preserve is 156 acres on Payne Road between Eight Corners and Cabela's. On December 17, SLT purchased an additional 55 acres of property neighboring the preserve with an aim to expand the space and permanently protect a stretch of the Nonesuch River and valuable floodplain. “It’s always a good day when we’re able to preserve ecologically-significant and fast-disappearing open land–especially when it’s close to other protected property,” said Andrew Mackie, Executive Director of SLT.

Scarborough Land Trust has three upcoming events: A Guided Cross-Country Ski at Fuller Farm (February 5), Two-Part Wildlife Tracking Program (February 9 & 12), and “Ask Andrew”, a Virtual Q&A with SLT Executive Director (February 15). Learn more & register.

All programs are free to attend and open to the public. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link. Visit scarboroughlibrary.org/events for details and to register.

The Library’s newest program, Let's Talk Scarborough, features Scarborough's new police chief, Mark Holmquist. The Library's civil discourse forum Let's Talk America has introduced this program to offer opportunities to hear from and ask questions of town officials and others. Let's Talk America's facilitator, Sam Kelley, will interview Chief Holmquist and then open it up for questions. Register.

This year's Camden Conference theme is "Europe: Challenged at Home and Abroad".

Paris at 6: Environmental Divides and Climate Unions in Europe with Susana Hancock

It has been six years since the 2015 Paris Agreement entered into force. The US is back in, but how is it going? The 2021 UN climate conference in Glasgow last November was supposed to solidify us on the track to limit warming to 1.5C but that did not happen. We have already warmed 1.1C, and with Glasgow's shortfalls, what are our options going forward?

Speaker Susana Hancock, PhD is a multidisciplinary researcher engaged in Arctic climate geopolitics and environmental anthropology. Register.

Scarborough Public Library has even more upcoming virtual programs. Learn more about "A Tri-Town Community Read" launching February 15 and the third program of the #SustainableScarborough series about climate change solutions, happening on February 24.

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

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