I am excited to begin my work as Scarborough’s newest town councilor. I want to thank the Scarborough residents for entrusting me with this role. When I moved to Scarborough 17 years ago, I knew it was something special. I feel fortunate to be raising my children in such a beautiful area. As a family, we have enjoyed exploring every park, trail, and beach this town has to offer.
I first began volunteering for the town over eight years ago when I joined the Zoning Board of Appeals. Since then, I have served on various boards for the town, most recently Planning Board. My involvement in these boards has helped me see some of the challenges ahead.
In 2021, the Town Council did a town wide survey and gave our residents the chance to share their concerns and priorities. Almost two-thirds of Scarborough residents indicated they are dissatisfied with the pace and management of growth in our town. I think we can do better at balancing the management of new growth with the ability to make investments that meet the needs of our existing residents. Developing a strong capital improvement plan would help the town be smarter about growth and ensure we have an appropriate plan in place.
As we continue to grow, we need to give more consideration to conservation and land preservation so we can better prepare ourselves for the rising sea levels and the impacts it can have on a coastal community like ours. We are home to the largest salt water marsh in the State. As a town we have an obligation to protect this natural resource and plan for the future.
One goal we can set as a town is to conserve 30 percent of our land by 2030. Coined “30×30,” this national movement is part of a comprehensive strategy to combat climate change, and its implementation in Scarborough would further benefit our town and its residents.
The 2021 town-wide survey also told us that over half of Scarborough residents indicated their top choice of investments was a community center. As one of the largest municipalities in the state, a community center is needed. However, we are currently faced with a crisis in our primary schools and middle school. And this is not a new crisis. We have three aging primary schools, each over 57+ years old, that collectively are overcapacity compared to state-required space minimums of 140 square feet/student. The entire sixth grade for the town of Scarborough is currently in portables. Across our schools we have students in 30 portables that are aging and will eventually be beyond their life expectancy. This is a situation we can longer ignore. You can learn more at the Scarborough Schools’ Building Committee page: https://www.scarboroughschools.org/board/standing-committees/building-steering-committee
I am looking forward to serving the residents of Scarborough for the next three years and welcome you to reach out to me or to any of my fellow councilors with any questions and concerns.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Scarborough Town Council.
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