Here we go again. The artist drawings are making the rounds and the TV commercials are being aired selling voters on Black Point Park as though it’s something we want. And with this pitch, the undertones of fear suggest that this park design is the better of two evils – buy it now or a factory could land there later.

Not so. This is why the town has an updated comprehensive plan. While it is true that residents have been involved in designing the park, how they got to that point would explain why so many may be feeling that this design is the better of two evils. Residents will decide in a referendum Nov. 6 if the town should borrow up to $975,000 to construct the new park, located off Black Point Road.

It is wrong that of all the things needed and wished for in this town and identified in the comprehensive plan, we are even considering Black Point Park at this point.

Town government and elected officials need to act responsibly. While I applaud the process of involving residents, let’s use that methodology responsibly by working the town priority list of needs in accordance to the comprehensive plan. If we work it that way, the park is low priority. The land is designated green open space. Leave it be.

I don’t know about you, but I like my daily cup of coffee. Each time a project comes before voters, we’re told that the cost is a mere cup of coffee to each resident. That’s a simplistic way of looking at it. Before I became an informed voter, I supported the high school $27 million project based on my assessed property value at the time. Lo and behold, once the debt hit the books, residential property was reassessed. I was robbed of far more cups of coffee than I had originally thought. The same will be true of any other project that adds cost. So savor those sips – you may need that caffeine to work extra hours to pay for all of this.

How did this Black Point Park project come to the forefront? Simply put, new residential development costs more to service than it generates in tax revenue, thus putting upward pressure on property taxes. In an effort to manage this, the town requires impact fees from developers to help fund the costs, and also requires a percentage of open space be reserved as open space – reserved being the operative word here.

The updated comprehensive plan states that developments should set aside or acquire future lands for municipal needs in strategic locations to ensure adequate capacity for growth and expansion of municipal facilities beyond the current five-year capital improvement program. So, clearly, this land has been reserved for open space. This should dispel the fear that the unthinkable will be built.

With the fear out of the picture, let’s look at the priority and what residents have said they want. A lot has gone into the updated comprehensive plan. It’s a culmination of the 1999 residential survey, 2000 Growth and Services Report, 2003 Town Visioning Sessions – to name a few. When you look at these reports in their entirety, you can see that the people have spoken. And what have they said?

First and foremost, rising property taxes are a huge concern among many residents. The majority of residents like living in Scarborough because of its “small town feel.” They like the natural environment and are committed to protecting it, placing high value on the community’s natural areas and open space. They would like to tie these neighborhoods, beaches, school district and retail area together with trails, sidewalks, and bicycle lanes.

When asked to write in the three most important projects for the town (1999 residential survey), here are the top 10 responses:

1. Create pedestrian and bicycle access

2. Community center

3. Purchase undeveloped land for preservation or passive recreation

4. Road and traffic control

5. Education programs/quality education

6. Regular scheduled maintenance on all town and school facilities

7. Purchasing land or easements to protect views and wildlife

8. Construction of a pool

9. Purchase land for future school needs

10. Park at centralized location

(source: page 44, Town of Scarborough Community Attitude Survey, November 1999)

It should be noted that this list was created in 1999. Somehow, the No. 10 item, a park at a centralized location, happened before a lot of other things that people said that they want. And what’s even more ironic – page 48 of that same report asks residents what they’d like to see the drive-in property used for. Here’s what people said – in order of priority:

1. Future school building needs

2. A community center

3. Athletic fields

4. Non-athletic fields

5. Pool, ice rink, field house

6. Retain for commercial use

Against our priority and our wishes, we now have Memorial Park on the old drive-in property. Aside from concerts, I don’t see people flocking to that park -Scarborough isn’t a park community. Cities have parks to offer a respite from the grind of city life, or children a space to play because back yards don’t exist. For a downtown walking community, parks offer a nice environment for a lunchtime break. These conditions don’t exist in Scarborough, a town spread out and rich in abundant natural beauty.

Let’s focus on creating a network of pedestrian and bicycle trails and a community center first. Black Point Park can wait.