By Michael E. Shaw

Scarborough Public Works Director

What sort of pictures pop into your mind when you hear public works? Perhaps snow plow trucks or men working on a roadside project. Although these types of operations are important and comprise a large part of our schedule, public works is a lot more. Due to advances in technology and additional state and federal regulation, public works’ range of activities is growing. In this series of articles I hope to inform you of the services we provide as well as the programs in which we participate to remain compliant with state and federal regulations.

Perhaps the place to start is with a little understanding of who comprises the staff of public works. We currently have 32 full-time employees and two half-time employees whose time is shared with the city of Saco. Our team is divided into six divisions: Operations, Vehicle Maintenance, Goegraphic Information Systems, Waste/Recycling, Administration and Traffic. 

In upcoming articles I hope to detail each division’s responsibilities.

Operations:

The Operations Division is probably what most of us associate with public works. A crew of 19 is responsible for all maintenance within the town’s rights-of-way. As you may know, Scarborough is a large community of 54 square miles. Within its borders there are 344 lane-miles of road to maintain.

Throughout the year, depending on the season, our work ensures roads are safe to travel. Some functions performed by operations include snowplowing, street sweeping, ditching and culvert work, roadside mowing and brush cutting, pavement repair, roadway graphics and catchbasin cleaning. One of the great things about working in  public works operations is the variety of duties performed. 

Beyond the typical work mentioned, we also work closely with Scarborough Community Services to ensure visitors have a positive experience when visiting the town’s pristine beaches. We schedule and perform weekly beach cleaning. In addition to beach work we are responsible for the installation, maintenance and removal of floats at Clay Pits, Ferry Beach and the Co-op at Pine Point.  

The operations team is responsible for two cemeteries in Scarborough. The Dunstan and Scarborough Memorial cemeteries are owned and operated by the town. Our duties include grounds maintenance, selection and sale of sites, and working with area funeral directors to arrange interment. We take this responsibility very seriously and strive to make the experience as dignified as possible.

There is a great variety in public works operation’s life. Just when we get back into our daily routine, a snow, wind, or rain storm develops to spice things up. An example is the continuing cleanup from the Dec. 12 ice storm. Along with our normal springtime duties the debris pickup creates additional work that is being shared between us and a contractor. We always say here at Public Works “if you don’t like what you’re doing now – wait a minute!”

As I mentioned, public works also has responsibilities in ensuring town compliance with state and federal regulations.  Operations is a piece of that complex puzzle. Our spring cleanup is part of our permit requirement for the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (N.P.D.E.S).  

This is an E.P.A. mandate to clean up storm water. With our street sweeping, catchbasin cleaning, and erosion control efforts we not only help comply with the program, we ensure cleaner water enters our rivers and marsh resources. You may have seen our displays about storm water at Summerfest. 

Public outreach is another part of the program, which shows you, as residents, what you can do in your own yard and how it relates directly to storm water quality. If you are interested in more information about  the N.P.D.E.S.  program please visit www.scarborough.me.us/publicworks.

In my next article I will touch upon the Vehicle Maintenance and Geographic Information Systems divisions. Although these employees work behind the scenes, they are critical to the needs of the Scarborough Public Works Department.

The Scarborough Fire, Police and Public Works Departments will produce a weekly feature for the Leader educating the public about various duties of the departments and public safety issues.