SCARBOROUGH — Five candidates are on the Nov. 3 for the Scarborough Town Council. Each recently answered questions posed by the Scarborough Leader  about the local issues and goals that are most important to them.

Three seats on the Town Council are open, each a three-year term.

Two of the candidates, Jean-Marie Caterina, 65, and John Cloutier, 46, are running for re-election. Of the three newcomers, Nick McGee, 48, currently serves as chair of the Planning Board. Frayla Tarpinian, 39, is an attorney, and Jonathan Anderson, 35, works in marketing and strategy operations for an animal health company.

Councilor Peter Hayes is not running for re-election.

Candidates were asked to share goals they would have if elected. McGee said that he would want to save Scarborough’s “small neighborhood schools,” and replace modulars with permanent additions.

“This will be a challenge, but I believe they are worth keeping,” he said. “Once we go to a singular mega-primary school, there’s no going back.”

Tarpinian said that she is running because she wants a balanced Town Council, each member independently reflecting the entire community.

“During my tenure I would like to see more cooperation among the council and other boards in town and to create sound policies to support smart growth and support a bright future,” she said.

Caterina, who has served two terms since 2013, has three goals for the Town Council — to “maintain the stability of property taxes; ensure adequate funding to maintain the excellence of our schools; (and) assist our most vulnerable seniors in day-to-day living, including the continuation of the Senior Property Tax Rebate, which I worked to increase from $600 to $750 for qualifying seniors,” she said.

Cloutier was elected to the Town Council in 2019 and said he would like to see more work put into the vision for Scarborough’s downtown, so it could be more “articulated and defined.”

“We are in a unique position to leverage the interest in Scarborough to improve the services available to our residents while keeping taxes reasonable,” he said. “The work done in the next few years will be critical to ensuring that tomorrow’s Scarborough continues to be a place that we’re proud to call home.”

A five-year vision between the council, school board, and residents would guide the town’s budget development efforts and reduce tension, Anderson said. He would like to see the community work together, becoming a model for civil discourse.

Four of the candidates, Caterina, Cloutier, Tarpinian, and Anderson, said that COVID-19 and the effects surrounding the pandemic will be the biggest challenge for the council.

“Addressing the impacts of coronavirus should be our priority,” Anderson said. “In addition to a joint committee, we need to continue to pressure state and federal government officials so the funding for our response does not come from our property taxes. A global pandemic should be addressed with national and state resources.”

Growth and development poses as the Town Council’s biggest challenge in McGee’s opinion, he said.

“It has a domino effect on schools, public safety, transportation, taxes and quality of life,” McGee said. “We should revise Growth Management and Zoning Ordinances to reflect a more measured growth model. We must find ways to adequately fund future capital improvement projects while guarding against substantial tax increases.”

He said that the town should also review impact fees by developers.

“A review of adequacy and effective allocation should be conducted,” McGee said. “Additionally, we should end the practice of issuing TIFs (Tax Increment Financing) and CEAs (Credit Enhancement Agreements) for residential housing projects. Scarborough is a desirable place and we don’t need to subsidize growth with our tax dollars.”

Tarpinian would balance keeping property taxes reasonable while providing necessary services, “by carefully reviewing each line item in the budget to ensure that resources are being efficiently and appropriately spent and setting a target to limit proposed property tax increases, to protect taxpayers from unreasonable increases,” she said.

To the same question, Caterina said, “Keeping an open dialogue between constituents and local government is essential. In Scarborough, we have provided open forums seeking input on the budget. We also work closely with the school board in order that there are no major surprises at budget time.”

Smart, well-planned balanced growth is key to this balance, Cloutier said.

“I would like to see us continue to expand our commercial tax base while providing for more housing options in town, allowing more residents to stay in Scarborough as they age,” he said.

Anderson emphasized his goal for a five-year investment plan and financial model for the town and school’s major projects.

“Additionally, we need to grow commercial revenue, reduce our debt, build cash reserves, and re-assess our existing revenue streams so we can cover the costs responsibly,” he said.

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