Council to weigh $4.7M bond sale

published in the Current
 

SCARBOROUGH – At its May 4 meeting, the Scarborough Town Council will consider the issuance of $4.7 million in municipal bonds to pay for a bevy of capital improvement projects.

About half of the revenue raised from a $4,428,265 municipal bond sale would go toward a $2.2 million project to improve the intersection at Haigis Parkway and Route 1. 

Other capital improvements on the 2010-2011 budget calendar include: Three miles of "mid-level road rehabilitation” ($441,000), site and parking improvements to Higgins Beach ($300,000), redesign and repair to library parking and sidewalks ($255,000), culvert replacement at Martin Avenue and Broadturn Road ($115,000), high school field lighting ($85,650), fire department station repairs ($85,000), work to the traffic calming island on Payne Road ($35,800) and directional signs to be placed across town ($20,000).

According to Finance Director Ruth Porter, all but four of the municipal projects are already under way.

New equipment funded with the bond sale includes various items for the library ($145,175), a new plow truck and a backhoe for the public works department ($291,000) and fire alarm repairs ($20,000).

The bond sale also would pay $400,000 toward the commercial pier project from the 2006-2007 capital works plan.

At the May 4 council meeting, a separate $451,000 bond sale is scheduled to be ordered for capital improvement projects at Scarborough schools.

Revenue raised from school bonds would pay for laptop computers for teachers in Grades K-5 ($144,000), desktop computers at Wentworth Intermediate School ($137,000), storm windows and roof restoration at Wentworth ($72,000), district-wide energy conservation programs ($45,000), district-wide roofing projects ($30,000) and purchase of a utility tractor ($23,000).