Follow the Leader

Girls rule (Printed March 5, 2010)

Leader Editor — 2010-03-05T18:57:00Z

By David Harry

Staff Writer

A day after school was canceled due to flooded roads, the Scarborough High School girls basketball team swamped Skowhegan High School 52-32 to win the state Class A championship.

The Red Storm surge at the Cumberland County Civic Center in Portland began early as the team led 19-3 after the first period.Scarborough capped the game with a 13-2 run.

The win was balanced as seniors Christy Manning, Brittany Ross and Ellie Morin each scored 12 points. Senior forward Sarah Moody scored nine – all on three-point shots.

Red Storm defenders held the Indians without afield goal for about eight minutes in the first half. Scarborough led 25-15 at halftime and the Indians drew to within seven points before a Red Storm flurry in the fourth period.

Coach Jim Seavey said it was as close as the team got to perfection all season.

“They have been resilient, they believe in each other and the system. They couldn’t have done it any better right from the opening tip,” Seavey said. The team overcame the broken wrist sustained by senior guard Jenn Colpitts in the Western Conference tournament and the loss of two other featured players during a 22-0 season.

Without Colpitts, who also missed the Western Conference semi-final and final games, Seavey said he asked the team to spread the work load.

“Everyone had to step up and get an extra rebound,make an extra pass, get an extra steal, and that’s exactly what we did,” Seavey said. “We never want to put the pressure all on one kid, we want to do it as a team.”

Scarborough defeated a common opponent for the gold ball trophy.

Since last June, the girls have beaten the Indians for championships in softball, field hockey and basketball.

Senior guard Heather Carrier played for all three teams, and enjoyed the streak while enduring only one loss in the three seasons.

Ross and Morin formed the core of the field hockey team with Carrier. Ross tied the field hockey game with a second half goal while Morin won it on a tipped shot in overtime. The win ended an eight-year run for Skowhegan as field hockey champions.

While the three celebrated multiple championships, senior forward Christy Manning added to her family’s glory. Her mother, the former Lisa Blais, played on four championship teams at Westbrook High School in the late 1970s.

Morin, who sank a three-point buzzer beater as the first period came to a close, said the early lead was a huge surprise to her.

“I looked at the scoreboard and said ‘what the heck?’ We had just played Deering and the whole game was intense,” Morin said of the come-from-behind win Feb. 20 that put Scarborough into the state championship.

“Skowhegan is an amazing team, they are athletic and they are all competitors,” Ross said.

Carrier, who spent much of the game in foul trouble before fouling out with one minute and 43 seconds left in the game, said she knew Skowhegan players badly wanted the win.

But so did Carrier, Ross, Manning and others who have played together for at least six years, Carrier said.

Manning said her team was more frustrated than worried as Skowhegan chipped away at the Red Storm lead.

“We weren’t getting as many open looks. We weren’t moving the ball around and kind of forcing things,” said Manning, who was named a semi-finalist for the annual Miss Basketball award given by the Maine Association of Basketball Coaches. Results will be announced March 12.

Seavey said sticking to the game plan and contributions from younger players were critical for victory.

“We wanted to take advantage of our size,” Seavey said, noting Manning’s outside play depleted Skowhegan’s inner defensive strategy because of the need to guard her. Meanwhile, 6-foot-2-inch sophomore Brittany Bona added four points and provided rebounding strength.

“Bona was huge, she’s bided her time and bided her time and today she got to step into the spotlight,” Seavey said.

After the nets were cut down and the Civic Center lights were dimmed, Carrier, Ross and Morin reflected on winning multiple championships. Ross and Morin said climbing the mountain in field hockey was more difficult, and Carrier said the team aspects of basketball made the championship the most rewarding.

Morin added her summation.

“To win two in a row as a senior – not many people do that, you know? You can’t stop smiling,” she said.

Staff writer David Harry can be reached at282-4337, ext. 219

Upset at cuts, parents crowd school meeting (Printed March 5, 2010)

Leader Editor — 2010-03-05T18:42:00Z

Editor’s note: The printed version of this article included inaccurate information regarding Superintendent David Doyle’s salary. The reduction in administrative salaries from $168,000 to $150,000 mentioned also includes a portion of Assistant Superintendent Jo Anne Sizemore’s salary. The error has been corrected in this version.

By David Harry

Staff Writer

Vowing to pay more in taxes and urging the board to reconsider its priorities, more than 150 people flocked to Town Hall last Thursday to comment on the proposed fiscal year 2011 school budget.

While Board of Education Chairman Brian Dell’Olio said the proposed $34.41 million budget “does its best to keep the impact minimal and programs intact,” speakers lined up for more than two hours to deliver countering opinions. The current budget, which includes adult education programs, is $35.19 million.

Maureen Desveaux cited strengths of academic and athletic programs and said she worried about the future quality of schools for her three children.

“We got all this by doing what we are trying to cut now,” she said. She added her first-, third- and fifth-grade children should benefit from programs she supported before she had school-age children.

The budget calls for a spending reduction of almost $786,000 and increases the local property tax levy from $26.7 million to $28.39 million.

If no municipal surplus is used to offset the tax levy, the 6.36 percent increase would increase taxes 48 cents per $1,000 of property value, Dell’Olio said. Properties currently are assessed at $12.15 per $1,000 of value and the possible increase would add $96 in property taxes to a home valued at $200,000.

The possible property tax increase, like the budget, remains preliminary, Dell’Olio said. Finance committee members built the budget anticipating a $20 million increase in town property values this year. That figure is reasonable, said Town Manager Tom Hall, but the full valuation compiled by Town Assessor Paul Lesperance will not be completed until summer.

School spending must be cut because the town lost more than $2 million in state aid and lacks a surplus to fund next year’s programs, said Bob Mitchell, chairman of the school board’s finance committee. Maintaining the status quo would lead to a 10.25 percent increase in the tax rate, he said.

“The bottom line is 10 percent is unreasonable,” Mitchell said.

The budget combines elements of two scenarios presented the finance committee earlier this month. One called for reducing spending to $34.62 million and the other for a reduction to $34.05 million.

The budget as currently proposed would lead to job reductions. Among the 43 positions slated for elimination are the equivalent of more than 23 teachers, 11 educational technicians, two bus drivers and three secretaries. Although upper-level French courses at Scarborough High School will be kept, introductory classes at Wentworth Intermediate School would be eliminated.

The proposed elimination of high school video production courses and cuts to the middle school health education program drew sharp criticism from students James Sunshine and Emma Cooper.

Sunshine called the production course one of the best electives offered at the high school because it involves technological learning that translates into real world job skills. Sunshine used his own work producing cable and streaming broadcasts of council meetings as an example of course benefits.

Cooper, an eighth-grader at Scarborough Middle School, said deferring knowledge about substance abuse and sexually transmitted diseases taught in the health program could be harmful.

“Some won’t learn the repercussions of their actions until high school and it may be too late,” she warned.

Caterina McLean, a 2009 Scarborough High School graduate attending Chicago University, sent her opinions in a letter read at the hearing by her mother, Jean-Marie Caterina.

In the letter, McLean attributed her success as a student to the depth of offerings throughout the schools and said it was impossible to cut one area without adversely affecting others.

Resident Tim Coombs presented his view of preserving education as investment, while another resident, Jeff Porter, asked the board to reconsider cutting staff over supplies and new buses.

Superintendent David Doyle’s request as part of his new contract reduces the combined amount of his and Assistant Superintendent Jo Anne Sizemore pay from $168,000 to $150,000.

A second public hearing took place Thursday, after the Leader deadline.

A public forum for students and parents in sixth through 12th grade will be at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the cafeteria at Scarborough Middle School. A forum for ealier grades will be 6:30 p.m. Wednesday in the same location. A second reading and vote on the budget is scheduled for March 18.

Staff writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219

Town seeks Eastern Trail bridge funding (Printed March 5, 2010)

Leader Editor — 2010-03-05T18:39:00Z

By David Harry

Staff Writer

From Eastern Road, hikers and bike riders can enjoy a curving trail with views of the Nonesuch River as it winds through upper reaches of Scarborough Marsh.

Crossing the river is a different matter. Scarborough has asked for $1 million in federal transportation money to help reconstruct an old railroad bridge that would help provide one of the last links along the trail.

Scarborough Town Manager Tom Hall has asked Congresswoman Chellie Pingree to include an “earmark” to pay for the bridge and complete the Scarborough portion of Eastern Trail. He is working with the Portland Area Comprehensive Transportation System, a regional collaboration of 16 towns that secures state and federal transportation funding.

Stone foundations and concrete abutments still stand where trail and river meet, but boulders now block a roughly 20-foot drop to the river. On the north side of the bridge, brush and trees have rooted in the railroad bed that could become at least part of final links for a 62-mile trail from Kittery to Bug Light in South Portland.

The earmark request faces long odds of acceptance, according to statistics provided by Willy Ritch, communications director for Pingree, a Democrat.

Pingree has received 133 earmark requests since last October to be included in eight appropriation bills. Ritch said the request for bridge and trail money is one of 21 to be considered as part of next year’s federal budget in the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill.

The bill is part of the federal budget that goes into effect Oct. 1.

While the requests are plentiful, available slots for earmarks Pingree can request have decreased almost by half, from seven to four, said Ritch.

Hall said how the trail will extend in South Portland after a new bridge is built has not been decided.

“I was hesitant to put this forward because there are so many unanswered questions,” he said.

While the trail would continue north on the former railroad roadbed once across the Nonesuch River, private property and pedestrian access concerns along Pleasant Hill Road complicate a potential route.

One choice could set a path along a Central Maine Power right of way. The trail would cross active rail lines owned by Guilford Transportation and used by the Amtrak Downeaster and freight trains.

A second choice would cross private land and use Pleasant Hill Road for part of the trail, a route that concerns Hall because of traffic flow and a narrow bridge over active train tracks.

Also undecided is how the trail will be routed north of Pleasant Hill and what Public Works officials unofficially call Prout’s Pond.

Possible routes are along Pond View Drive or along the other side, which would mean less vehicle traffic but more work to create the trail, Hall said.

Eventually, any completed trail will link to the South Portland Greenbelt walkway at the Wainright Recreation Complex off Highland Avenue and bordering the Scarborough town line, according to preliminary plans.

Staff writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219

Alleged ATM thief back behind bars (Printed March 5, 2010)

Leader Editor — 2010-03-05T18:38:00Z

By David Harry

Staff Writer

The Old Orchard Beach man charged withtheft of an automated teller machine in Scarborough last November is again in jail after his arrest in Biddeford last week.

Brian Andrews, 32, appeared in Cumberland County Superior Court in Portland Tuesday before his return to jail, where he is being held without bail for violating conditions of his release, according to jail officials.

According to Biddeford Deputy Police Chief JoAnne Fisk, Andrews was arrested on outstanding warrants issued in Cumberland County. Police logs show he was arrested at 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 23 on King Street.

Police said Andrews possessed a usable amount of marijuana, violating his conditions of release. When arrested, Fisk said Andrews tried to pose as his younger brother.

He was taken to York County Jail in Alfred and then transferred to Cumberland County Jail in Portland on Feb. 25, a York County Jail official said.

Cumberland County Jail officials confirmed Andrews has been held without bail since Feb. 25 because of the bail conditions violation.

Andrews was indicted in January by a Cumberland County grand jury on charges he used a stolen pickup truck to drag an ATM from the store late at night on Nov. 29 before leading Scarborough police on a high speed chase down Gorham and Black Point roads.

Andrews also is charged with ramming a police cruiser at the start of the chase. He was arrested after he crashed the truck near the Prouts Neck Yacht Club in Scarborough.

Court records show officers followed footprints across a beach and discovered Andrews hiding behind rocks and in the water.

Andrews has a list of convictions on burglary, forgery, theft and assault charges dating to 2000, according to the same court records.

Staff writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219

Benefit sheds light on life in Sudan (Printed March 5, 2010)

Leader Editor — 2010-03-05T18:35:00Z

By David Harry

Staff Writer

Helping build a school in a war-ravaged country is a story that can tug at heartstrings.

Next Thursday at 7 p.m., 10 Scarborough High School students will provide music to the story with a benefit concert at Winslow Homer Auditorium to benefit Village Help for South Sudan.

The $5 admission price (additional donations are welcomed) will help Sudanese refugees Franco Majok and Bol Riiny build a school in Riiny’s native village of Theou.

Majok, founder of Village Help for South Sudan, said the village is so tiny it doesn’t appear on maps and is quite similar to his native village of Wanlung, where the struggle to survive can be all-consuming.

He helped organize the nonprofit in 2005 to help his southern Sudanese compatriots overcome three decades of war.

Children in Theou attend classes outdoors – not uncommon in Sudan, Majok said. In Wanlung, children can attend school indoors, because Majok raised money to help build a school.

Majok arrived in America in 1998 when Lutheran Community Services helped bring him to Lynn, Mass. He credits his education with keeping him alive.

Knowing how to read maps helped him escape southern Sudan when civil war broke out more than 25 years ago, he said. Majok took night classes to finish high school while he worked in the capital of Khartoum in the north, and he eventually fled to Egypt. Knowing how to fill out a visa application allowed him to get to America.

“Education is the big piece, it is how I saved myself,” Majok said.

After arriving in Massachusetts, Majok became a caseworker for Lutheran Community Services, and met Riiny when he arrived in 2000.

Riiny had spent about 13 years in refugee camps before coming to America as an unaccompanied minor. He graduated high school in 2004 and college in 2008. Scarborough High School gifted and talented program teacher Elizabeth Spaulding said his visit last year provided the impetus for next week’s concert.

“Bol personalized the experience when he talked last year,” Spaulding said, and his plea for help to build a school resonated with her students. She said Majok and Riiny will both attend the concert and speak more about conditions in southern Sudan.

Aileen Andrews, who will sing two Broadway songs and “Over the Rainbow” from “The Wizard of Oz,” said she is aware of the disparity of conditions between here and Sudan.

“Here we sit in this massive climate-controlled building,” she said. “I think we overlook a lot of things.”

Andrews, who starred in the fall production of the musical “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” is one of the few concert performers who has played on the stage of Winslow Homer Auditorium.

Others, including classically trained cellist Harim Park, pianist Jiachang Xiang and violinist Kevin Cai, will make Scarborough High School stage debuts at the concert. They’ve also performed in student orchestra productions at Merrill Auditorium in Portland.

The musicians have chosen favored classical pieces to play, most as solo performances.

Xiang said the cause he is supporting next week heightens his desire to play at school.

“I want to put on an impressive show,” he said.

The struggle for basic subsistence in southern Sudan stands out for Cai.

“They struggle just to get water and have no time or energy to get anything else,” he said.

Majok said the primitive conditions can and have been improved in his native country.

“It is hard to explain, these are remote villages like the 1600s or 1700s. But now there is a school, market and a source of water,” he said of his home village of Wanlung. “There is hope and change.”

Staff writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219

Obituaries (Printed March 5, 2010)

Leader Editor — 2010-03-05T18:33:00Z

Nicholas DiMastrantonio, 78, of Scarborough, died at his residence with his children by his side Friday, Feb. 26, 2010, following a lengthy illness.

His children cared for him at his residence for the past year.

He was married to Gloria M. Allaier for 32 years and worked 39 years as a railroad engineer for the Maine Central Railroad. He was a member of the South Portland Thornton Heights Fire Department Engine 6.

Mr. DiMastrantonio was appointed chief umpire of the Scarborough American Little League for 11 years. He also lent 14 acres of land for local farmers to use. Mr. DiMastrantonio was an active member of the Elks Club (BPOE 188) in Portland for 37 years. His love and his hobbies included baseball, football and basketball and he was an avid hunter.

He is survived by his brother, Tony DiMastrantonio of Connecticut; sisters Victoria Wilson of Gray and Rose DiMastrantonio of Hallowell; three sons, Nicholas DiMastrantonio of Shapleigh, Mark DiMastrantonio of Scarborough and Chris DiMastrantonio of Rumford; four daughters, Sheila Sanborn of Standish, Julie Reynolds of Gorham, Priscilla DiMastrantonio of Saco and Tina Webber of Waterboro; 15 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Contributions to assist the family with funeral expenses may be made to the Hobbs Funeral Home, 230 Cottage Road, South Portland, ME, 04106.

Letter: Health class is essential (Printed March 5, 2010)

Leader Editor — 2010-03-05T18:31:00Z

To the editor:

I am an eighth-grade student at Scarborough Middle School. I have participated in health classes since sixth grade. Most middle school students describe health class as “gross,” and “stupid.”

This is not the case.

Students value their health experience. I went into my first day of health class thinking it would be the worst class I had that semester. On the contrary, it became one of my favorites, not because the teacher, Mrs. Turner, is kind and understanding, although that helped too, but mainly because I learned.

I learned about how harmful STDs are and the science behind underage drinking laws. By the time we attend high school, and even toward the end of eighth grade, we are being pressured into dangerous activities.

The opportune time for us to learn about the repercussions of these dangerous activities, both legal and to our health, is in middle school. If the school department cuts middle school health programs and we aren’t blessed with parents who will share this knowledge with us, we won’t learn the repercussions of our actions until it may be too late.

How will we avoid getting ourselves into a risky situation, with knowledge about why it is risky and with tools for getting out of the situation safely? Consider hearing what we value about our educational experience.

I propose that we search for other ways to save money. In March 2008 school year, the middle school conducted an experiment called “Save the Polar Bears.”

In this experiment, we turned off half of the lights in all of the classrooms, and all of the lights when the classrooms were not in use. Over the course of one month, the middle school alone saved 5,700 kilowatt-hours which is a financial savings of $2,100. Over an entire school year, that could be a savings of $19,000.

That is just for the middle school. If we did this for all of the schools, we could be saving a lot of money.

Emma Cooper

Scarborough

Letter: Maintain school funding (Printed March 5, 2010)

Leader Editor — 2010-03-05T18:30:00Z

To the editor:

There has been a lot of talk recently about making difficult choices regarding the school budget – how deeply should programs like foreign language, the arts and sports be cut? How many teacher positions do we need to lose?

Sometimes the toughest decision is to not cut at all. Raise taxes or borrow money to make up for some of the shortfall in state aid and maintain the quality and level of classroom instruction families in Scarborough currently enjoy. Most importantly, do not cut classroom and other instructional positions. Pay-to-play and booster clubs can contribute operational funds to meet the needs of sports and arts, but coaching and instructional staff must be maintained.

As a nation, we have already mortgaged our children’s future financial well-being to satisfy our insatiable need for cheap credit. Slashing the budget for their education just adds insult to injury. Cutting foreign language programs will make it even harder for today’s young people to compete in the global economy. Eliminating sports will erode their health and lead to idle hours after school. Extracurricular and in-school arts programs create more successful students overall.

Choosing to invest in lean times is a tough decision. We may need to get creative to help families deal with unemployment or seniors on fixed incomes deal with a tax increase, but I am hopeful that it can be done, because cutting education budgets now is simply asking our children to someday dig themselves out of a deeper hole than the one we’ve already put them in – and giving them fewer tools to accomplish the task.

David Nitchman

Scarborough

Letter: Helping save teams (Printed March 5, 2010)

Leader Editor — 2010-03-05T18:28:00Z

To the editor:

Libby-Mitchell American Legion Post 76 baseball has been helping to raise funds necessary to save seventh- and ninth-grade baseball and Scarborough Middle School development baseball teams endangered by school budget cuts.

We held a kids music concert in February at the Black Point Congregational Church. It was a big success. We raised $805 toward saving the teams.

Thank you to the Rev. Fred Gagnon and Penny Hartman of the church for allowing use of the parish hall; Jack Wagner, J.T. DeGrinney, Tom MacDonald, Dan McDonald, Sarah Rinaldi and Sam Warren, the musicians who played piano or violin or sang for the audience; the Hubers, Coreys, Degrinneys, Wagners, MacDonalds, Rinaldis, Kanes, Rick Murphy, Laura Bustin of Saco and Biddeford Savings, Eddie Woodin, Pam Joy, Jeff Jones, Jeff Worthing, Robin Thurston of State Farm, Matt Gardner, Laurene Swaney, Randi Kirshbaum, Becky Fredenburg, David Patchell, Drew Gwyer, Bob Hatem and Scarborough Little League and Ken Dolloff and Libby-Mitchell American Legion Post 76, all of whom donated to the event.

Thanks to all for a great day for Scarborough baseball, music and Scarborough kids.

Dan Warren

Scarborough

Letter: Great work (Printed March 5, 2010)

Leader Editor — 2010-03-05T18:25:00Z

To the editor:

Recently my husband and I decided to get siding for our house. We wanted to be sure that we received quality work with the best customer service possible. Seeing a lot of Quinn Installation work done around town, we contacted owner Dennis Quinn for an estimate.

Not only did Dennis return my call that afternoon and set up an appointment for the following day, but then spent nearly two hours with me going over the entire process, sharing his business philosophy and answering questions.

The excellent customer service continued from there. Steve Clukey and Scott Brown were at our house before the original start date. They were friendly, courteous and thoughtful.

They left the work site each day neat and clean. They were respectful of our family’s schedule and kept us informed of their progress and any concerns or problems each day.

We are very grateful to Dennis and his team. Our house looks incredible and we would recommend Quinn Installation Contractors to others.

Lisa Bennett

Scarborough

Town to borrow $4.7M (Printed Feb. 26, 2010)

Leader Editor — 2010-03-03T21:00:00Z

By David Harry

Staff Writer

Running Hill, Old County and Pine Point roads are areas that could be most affected by town council approval of a $4.7 million public works bond last week.

Within the bond is funding for extending sewer lines to a rezoned area near Running Hill and New roads, improvements on the section of road closer to its intersection with Route 114, and more study on how to alleviate heavy traffic flow on the road.

The bond also contains $1.35 million in funding to improve drainage on Old County Road using pipelines no longer needed by the Scarborough Sanitary District and $170,000 for work where Pine Point Road curves to meet King Street near the Lighthouse Inn.

The council also approved $1.47 million in bonds for capital improvements at local schools. An additional bond totaling more than $648,000 for municipal capital equipment will be considered at the March 3 council meeting.

The council tabled the capital equipment bond until its next meeting to determine if everything listed was needed and what had already been bought. With the exception of $40,000 in library improvements, the bond would actually repay the town for items such as a street sweeper and plow truck that have already been bought, Town Manager Tom Hall said.

The council had approved money for the bonds in the town’s fiscal 2010 budget, but the town charter requires a council vote that allows the town manager to obtain the bonds, Hall said. While the town charter requires voter approval for bonds of more than $400,000, bonds for street, sidewalk or sewer projects are exempted.

Sewer installation, road improvements and traffic studies on Running Hill Road comprise about $2.09 million of the bond spending, although extension of municipal sewer lines to an area roughly bordered by Running Hill and New roads is not immediately planned, said Town Planner Dan Bacon.

The area has been rezoned for some development, but without a firm commitment to build from private developers, no public works projects will begin, Bacon said. The first phase of the sewer extension comprises $1.45 million of the bond, according to town council documents.

The addition of pedestrian lanes to a section of Running Hill Road west from New Road to the intersection with Gorham Road will begin later this year, said Public Works Director Mike Shaw. The bond includes $591,000 for the work.

While Shaw said there “will not be a lot of change in character to the road,” future commercial development of the area closer to the Maine Mall could lead to changes in westbound traffic flow.

Town Manager Tom Hall said $50,000 of the bond will be used for more study of traffic flow on Running Hill Road between the mall and Gorham Road. The road has long been used by drivers headed to and from the mall area, Hall said. He and other town officials have been working with area homeowners on ways to both slow and diminish traffic.

Discussed options have included building a new road through the rezoned area as part of the development process, Hall said. The road would resemble Gallery Boulevard, which runs past the Scarborough Gallery retail area that includes Super Wal-Mart and Lowe’s.

Another idea discussed proposes altering the western portion of Running Hill Road so it flows into New Road to create a loop intersecting with Gorham Road on each end. Any new road spanning the developed area could also be designed to divert most traffic from continuing west on Running Hill Road, Hall said.

Traffic lanes where the curved section of Pine Point Road meets King Street will be narrowed in an effort to slow traffic, according to plans. If the construction work costs less than expected, Hall said he envisions remaining bond money would be used to construct a new drop-off zone for public access to Pine Point Beach.

The access area would be built on a 13,000-square–foot area of town-owned land between the Lighthouse Inn and Beach Walk subdivision. Hall said a task force of town officials, area residents and subdivision owners is preparing a final plan to present the planning board at its March 15 meeting.

The board will be asked for advice on how the plan fits with ordinances but will not vote on it before it is presented to the town council, Hall said.

Staff writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219

Soft demand (Printed Feb. 26, 2010)

Leader Editor — 2010-03-03T20:58:00Z

By David Harry

Staff Writer

Even if fortune has yet to fully smile on the Gateway Square office park, developer Gene Beaudoin sees a brighter future.

Beaudoin, a partner with developer Barry Feldman in New England Expedition LLC, said he anticipates development of the 32.5-acre site bordered by Haigis Parkway and Payne Road to occur within the next several years.

The proposed office complex represents the second phase of development in the Haigis Parkway and Payne Road area by Beaudoin and Feldman – the pair built the 225,000-square foot retail area called Gateway Shoppes that is anchored by outdoor outfitting chain Cabela’s.

The company first must be granted an extension until 2013 of the contract zone agreement with Scarborough. A second reading and vote on the proposal is expected to occur at Wednesday’s town council meeting.

The contract zone agreement allowing zoning changes for development expires March 12 and calls for “substantial completion” of the proposed business park with 250,000 square feet of office space in five buildings.

Finding takers for any office space has been difficult, Beaudoin said. The company already has installed about $5 million of infrastructure, including sewers, street lamps and a paved road with curb cuts.

“We are starting to see an uptick in calls (from prospective tenants),” Beaudoin said. But without signed leases from new tenants, construction financing will not be easy to get, he said.

While the access road curving from Payne Road to Haigis Parkway passes under ornamental street lamps and sites have been cleared for building, Beaudoin said it may be several years before all plans become reality.

Without an extension of the agreement, New England Expedition could be held in default. That would make financing more difficult to obtain, said Town Manager Tom Hall.

“I remain incredibly confident,” Hall said. “We could not expect anyone to do a better job.”

Development of Gateway Square appeared to be off to a good start about two years ago with South Portland-based computer chip manufacturer Fairchild Semiconductor poised to lease office space. However, the company withdrew its interest last January after a slump in the chip market, Beaudoin said.

Since then, interest in new office space has been minimal as demand for existing office softened with the economy. A commercial real estate marketing survey by Portland-based Boulos Co. lists a 9.15 percent vacancy rate in greater Portland for 2009, up from 9.11 percent in 2008.

The lack of development also has hurt land valuations used to fund a credit enhancement financing zone for the area. Fully developed land would lead to increased tax valuations. The tax increases from new valuations are then returned to New England Expedition, Hall said.

The credit enhancement financing is distinctive from tax increment financing because after additional property taxes are collected on new land values, the taxes are returned to New England Expedition, Lesperance said.

Those rebates help finance the development of the site, Beaudoin said.

Data supplied by Town Assessor Paul Lesperance shows the office park’s tax valuation increased from more than $792,000 in 2007 to $4.89 million in 2008. Valuations did not increase in 2009.

Tax records indicate New England Expedition bought the land in 2007 for $2.9 million.

Feldco, the parent company of New England Expedition, has developed commercial properties throughout New England, Beaudoin said. Scarborough is not as overbuilt as other sections of the region, he said.

An additional development casualty in Gateway Square is a proposed hotel. Beaudoin said plans for the hotel are on hold because demand for hotel rooms also ebbed.

Beaudoin had approached the planning board last August to discuss preliminary plans for the hotel on the Gateway Shoppes retail site between Payne Road and the Maine Turnpike.

Even if a planned hotel never materializes, Beaudoin said development at Gateway Shoppes has an 80 percent occupancy rate.

The rate will increase when two businesses move to space in the next couple of months, but Beaudoin declined to name the new tenants because leases have not been signed.

Staff writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219

Resignation suggested, principal says (Printed Feb. 26, 2010)

Leader Editor — 2010-03-03T20:56:00Z

By David Harry

Staff Writer

The search will soon be on for the next principal of Scarborough High School, according to School Superintendent David Doyle.

Doyle said this week efforts to replace Patricia Conant will include input from staff, students and parents.

Conant, whose annual contract was not renewed for 2011, said she will assist if needed to find her replacement.

“The quality will continue to be outstanding – I have a great deal of respect for what happens here,” Conant said.

Doyle and Board of Education Chairman Brian Dell’Olio declined to comment on specifics of the decision to not renew Conant’s contract. Doyle said he received a letter Feb. 12 from Conant acknowledging she will leave the school June 30.

Conant said she was offered the option of resigning and had no idea why her contract will not be renewed.

Principal since 2006, Conant said she understands a change in goals by the Board of Education could lead to a change in administrators as well. But she said she was never asked to participate in any executive sessions with the board to evaluate her job performance and still wonders if a Feb. 4 executive session concerned her work.

The Scarborough School Department grants yearly contracts to its administrators and the decision to retain them is made by the superintendent, said Dell’Olio. While the board will officially be notified of Conant’s letter saying she won’t return, it does not need to vote to accept the letter, Dell’Olio said.

As a search commences, Dell’Oilio said the school administrative structure may change as the board considers eliminating one of two assistant principal positions in the fiscal 2011 budget. The preliminary budget was presented at a public hearing Thursday, after the Leader deadline.

Before submitting the letter confirming her departure, Conant met with the board’s finance committee to discuss budget scenarios for the next fiscal year that begins July 1.

Conant proposed new anatomy and physiology courses at the school, and two of her three budget scenarios eliminated as many as six teaching positions and reduced upper-level French offerings.

Conant replaced Andrew Dolloff as principal when Dolloff was promoted to assistant superintendent for Scarborough schools in 2006. He is now superintendent of Regional School Unit 21, which comprises Arundel, Kennebunk and Kennebunkport.

Conant was formerly a principal at Falmouth High School, Dirigo High School in Dixfield, athletic administrator at Livermore Falls High School and an English and math teacher at Dirigo.

Once a colleague of Dolloff’s at Dirigo High School, the two were reunited in 2003 when Conant became a guidance counselor at Scarborough High School. She said had been retired from education for about two years and was actually applying for a job as a secretary at the school when Dolloff told her about the guidance counselor opening.

“I was impressed with the way the kids handled themselves and the open building,” she said.

Conant is uncertain what she’ll do next after she leaves in June, but anticipates more time to spend with her 2-year-old granddaughter.

“I have always longed for a job with a definitive start and end time,” she said.

Staff writer David Harry can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 219