Tom Hall, 42, a Presque Isle native with two young children, has been at Scarborough’s helm as town manager for just two months. Fresh from the same position in Rockland, he’s making his fourth and what he hopes will be his last stop to run a town.

He recently sat down with The Current to talk about challenges he has faced as a town manager, what drew him to Scarborough and what he hopes to accomplish during his time here.

Q: What attracted you to the Scarborough position?

A: Scarborough, in my mind, in the municipal field is one of the top five jobs in the state. It has the best that greater Portland has to offer, and then as a community it has beautiful beaches, great challenges from an economic development point of view and opportunities. It also has a huge community and there are a lot of things that are going on and have the potential to happen here. Beyond that, what was really comforting to me (was that) everyone who had heard I was interviewing said Scarborough is a great place. People who live here told me they love it here. The schools are good and it’s a big town by Maine standards, but it still has that small town feel, which is nice.

Q: How is it different from Rockland?

A: The biggest difference for me is its lack of identity, if you will. Rockland has a defined downtown which is its heart, and (in) most communities with a downtown that’s true. That’s one of the things that is going to be a bit challenging for me and different for me – not having that central focal point. Scarborough has its own identity. Scarborough is in a position where businesses want to be here. Most of the rest of Maine communities are doing what they have to do – and sometimes too much, in my opinion – to attract business, and Rockland is no different in that respect. Maine generally has geography against it, as we are off the beaten path. And then our tax codes and policies aren’t really business friendly, and it’s a tough place to do business generally, so Scarborough is one of the premier communities in the state where business growth is the premier aspect of the job and for me professionally. That was something that was missing in Rockland.

Q: Could you describe your first two months on the job?

A: I’ve done this long enough and have worked in four different communities and I appreciate how important it is to spend time up front to get to know staff, to get to know the elected officials and know the issues. I know that I don’t know it all and I have only scratched the surface, and it will take years to appreciate all those intricacies. You mentioned the Haigis Parkway. There is so much history that the learning curve is huge, but it’s good. I haven’t been confronted with anything that I haven’t had experience with. It’s a matter of just putting all the pieces together. It’s exciting and it’s challenging, but the first two months are really about a lot of listening.

Q: What has surprised you most about Scarborough?

A: Really, the small-town feel of it. I had an image of it being kind of having separate and distinct villages and kind of a sprawling urban community, but there’s a bond that is still very much a small town. There’s a lot of good things happening around us. One of our challenges is the transportation network. Route 1 and the turnpike really define us. They make almost three distinct areas of the town just by the scar the infrastructure leaves on the landscape, and that’s something we’re going to need to embrace, work with or work around.

Q: Whenever this job comes to an end for Tom Hall, be it 30 years from now or 30 days from now, what do you hope to have accomplished in your time as town manager?

A: My wife says 30 years (laughter). I can tell you one of the major reasons I decided to come. In spite of the massive development over the last two decades, the town finally “got it” in terms of comprehensive planning – the commitment to following and implementing the comprehensive plan – and that doesn’t happen too often in many communities. It’s hard enough to do the plan and it’s no good if you don’t follow through on it. If I can get out of the way and encourage that process to continue and keep that focus, I think that’s going to serve this community well. We’ve got a lot of good things going for us and it’s a matter of managing that growth in areas in ways that the comprehensive plan envisions.

Q: What do you see in Scarborough’s future?

A: I think given its proximity to the greater Portland area it’s always going to serve as the bedroom community. I predict in the next couple of decades that it’s going to come into its own as the property develops into supporting more of a business and commercial center. Ideally, I would love it to be host to corporate headquarters with first-class developments and high-quality jobs. It really is poised to serve that niche.

Q: Where are you in your move to Scarborough?

A: Well, we bought a house here, so now I own a house up north and down south. We’re committed to the move and our house is under contract in Rockland. … In spite of (the economic downturn), things are working as scripted. I think the kids will be here probably over February break. The one thing we gave the kids as a negotiation point was that they could spend the basketball season in Rockland with their teams. We’re going to honor that.

Tom Hall, the former Rockland town manager, has been on the job in Scarborough for two months, but he says he already sees big plans for the town’s future.