When Ian Engelman relocated to Maine from Connecticut five years ago, he chose Scarborough over other towns in the area for its beaches, its school system and its proximity to Portland. However, there was one thing he didn’t like about the town – there was no way to tell where Scarborough ended and where it began.

“I was proud of what Scarborough had to offer, but embarrassed by the lack of town center,” he said.

Driving down Route 1, Engelman thought the town looked like “Anywhere, U.S.A.” The only central structure he could see was the water tower at Oak Hill, which he thought was unsightly and needed to be removed.

That water town is slated to be taken down by the Portland Water District this summer, and now Engelman, who is an inventor and the president of a company called Insightful Products, sees it differently. Not only would he like the structure to remain, but also, he would like to see it revamped it into a lighthouse complete with observation deck. Then, he believes, Scarborough would have the centerpiece that it has been missing.

According to Gary Lorfano, Scarborough’s representative on the Portland Water District’s board of trustees, the water tower is being taken down because it is in need of repairs and repainting, which would be extremely expensive. Because of water-main improvements that have been made in Oak Hill over the past few years, the water tower, which was built in 1926, has “outlived its usefulness,” he said, and the $19,000 it will cost to tear down the tower is much less expensive than it would be to fix it.

Engelman presented his idea to the Scarborough Town Council at a meeting May 16. He argued that, if it is going to cost the water district $19,000 to tear it down, the town could instead, offer to take it off the district’s hands. Town Manager Ron Owens, who had looked into Engelman’s idea, said there would be several issues with converting the water tower into a lighthouse, including removing the lead paint, stabilizing the structure and meeting the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“The problem with the water tower, as I see it, is it was designed as a water tower,” Owens said at the meeting. He said he spoke with an engineer who said that, without water inside, the water tower cannot stand on its own, and another structure would have to be built inside it to make it stable.

“I’ve talked to the water district and we’ve looked at this from several angles,” Owens said. “It’s a good idea, but I think the practical nature and the cost would be too great to realize the dream.”

Town Council Chairman Jeff Messer thanked Engelman for thinking outside of the box.

“The idea’s there and we’ll see where it goes,” Messer said.

Councilor Shawn Babine agreed that Scarborough could use more innovative thinking like Engelman’s.

“I hope it creates a window of opportunity for bigger discussions about what can happen in Scarborough,” Babine said in an interview.

Owens said, although he does not think the water tower conversion is practical, creating “a stronger sense of local identity in the center of town” is something he would like to see in Scarborough’s future.

Regardless of the practicality of the lighthouse, Engelman has been successful in getting people in town talking about finding a focal point for the community.

Local historian Rodney Laughton said the Scarborough Historical Society was scheduled to meet on Monday to discuss Engelman’s idea.

“The view from the top of the water tower is spectacular,” said Laughton, who has seen for himself. “I don’t know whether it is physically feasible, but it is certainly a unique idea,” Laughton said of Engleman’s vision.

Part of Engelman’s argument for the lighthouse was that it would give Scarborough it’s own symbol – a town seal. Local resident Lois Randall said when people visit her from out of state for business or pleasure, they want to send postcards home, but there is no image that is representative of the town. The lighthouse, she said, could be just that.

“There’s no distinction that says this is Maine, this is New England, this is Scarborough,” Randall said. “It just seems like such a logical thing to do.”

Whether it’s a logical solution or a logistical nightmare, the idea of the lighthouse has brought out a desire from the residents of Scarborough to distinguish their town from their neighbors’. Though Engelman’s original concern was about having a town center, he is not giving up on the lighthouse.

“There’s no way any town center or project can match that,” Engelman said.

Bright idea: Remake water tower into iconic lighthouse