Age: 46

Occupation Real estate consultant

Education: Scarborough High School, 1981

How long in Scarborough: Through 1996, then 10 years away, came back in 2006

Status: Married

Q: Why are running for one of three Town Council seats?

A: I am quite concerned about how disconnected the town has become over time. Many people on the Town Council are not listening to the townspeople. Also, the Council and the school system are not working well with each other, but rather are two separate entities. The Council and School Board should complement each other. Fire, police and public works departments are lopsided as a team, and community services are pointing figures at each other.

Q: What is the most important issue facing Scarborough Town Council?

A: People in town feel nobody is listening to them. If you look at citizen votes going back to when the referendum on building a new Town Hall went down, the Town Hall was built anyway. Most recently, the people voted against building Black Point Park but the field was seeded and the groundwork was laid for the park. Why is the money being spent? This is a prime example of how the Town Council and officials are just not listening.

Q: How do you feel about the proposal to add slot machines at Scarborough Downs and develop the property there?

A: I am weighing the pros and cons of the Scarborough Downs slots proposal carefully. Over 3,000 people have signed the initiative backing development. I am talking with the fire and police departments and studying academic reports on crime levels at casinos and racinos. The town of Scarborough is looking at obtaining tax revenues of 25 percent from the racino.

Q: What needs to be done in terms of replacing or renovating one or both Scarborough Middle School and Wentworth Intermediate school?

A: I am frustrated with the School Board as to what is going on with Wentworth Intermediate. I cannot get a straight answer on whether or not there is asbestos. But I believe the boilers are rusty and brick liners there are not in good shape. I believe mold presents serious health concerns and no testing has been done. I am not keen on modular buildings, which encourage mold growth. Officials avoid the mold issue because it is messy When you plan a new school you have to plan 10 years ahead, and figure out whether school rolls are rising or falling. Build with a 10-year plan in mind and you save money today.

Q: Haigis Parkway was originally designed for biotech development, yet it has become mainly retail. How would you attract more biotechnology companies to the area and campus style office office space.

A: I would be careful about seeking to attract more hi-tech companies because of the hazardous materials that such industries need to guard on site. Fairchild and National Semiconductor sites are so “dirty” that not one ounce can be taken off site. But moving National Semiconductor’s eastern region head office to Haigis Parkway is a great move. Citizens don’t know what they are getting into when they are trying to attract high-tech companies.

Q: How can the town do more to conserve/protect land and if so, what?

A: I want no more contaminants running into the marsh, I want more inspections, and to embrace the conservation board to get a little more sense of environmental issues. I believe in keeping areas that we have preserved such as the Fuller Farm and the Broad Turn Road Farm. These are examples of what can be done.

Q: What can the town do to protect the natural resources – land, river and salt marsh?

A: We should act on opportunities to buy. At one point the marsh was slated for a huge subdivision. This prompted the state to use private trust funds to buy the marsh land and leave it undeveloped. More work needs to be done to reduce stormwater runoff from houses and businesses into the salt marsh.

Q: How do you feel about the town’s decision recently about Black Point Park?

A. The decision by the Town Council to build a park on Black Point Road needs more scrutiny. The town manager has said the town lacks recreational facilities such as for pick-up baseball, soccer and walking areas, and work on seeding the park has begun. Yet the citizens have voted down spending a lot of money on this park and so costs have to be lowered. My belief is that the public voted down the park then it should not have been built anyway.

Scarborough Town Council – Robert M. Baizley – Would listen to the people

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