Volunteers from the Scarborough Economic Development Corp. (SEDCO), in conjunction with the Scarborough Community Chamber (SCC) [part of the Portland Regional Chamber] are currently hard at work on an economic development vision & plan for Scarborough. SEDCO and the SCC began working on a long-term, written economic development vision & plan for Scarborough back in the fall of 2008. Industry-specific business forums were held in March of this year and currently the working group is in the process of interviewing one-on-one: community leaders, businesspeople and large landowners. Next, they will meet with town councilors, planning staff and board, and other relevant municipal parties. Then, they will hold public forums to solicit information from the public. Finally, the goal is to wrap-up this worthwhile endeavor in the fall of 2009 and to rely on the vision & plan as the master economic development document for Scarborough for the next five to ten plus years. This plan will serve as a helpful guide as to where Scarborough would like to be with regard to economic development in the future and it will be an important tool for Realtors, developers and site locators. If you have not been contacted regarding this project, and you would like to add your input, please contact our office today.

Out of the March forums connected to the economic development vision & plan for Scarborough came the idea for a small business town hall-style meeting & resource fair to support Scarborough businesses. Organized by town councilor Karen D'Andrea, with assistance from SEDCO, the SCC, the Scarborough Public Library and Scarborough businesspeople, on May 18, at the Scarborough Public Library, beginning at 3:30 pm and running until 7:00 pm, this event will be held. The town of Scarborough, in conjunction with small business week, is offering this unique and unprecedented opportunity for Scarborough small businesses to come together as a community for a forum to discuss the current economic climate and to work toward creative ideas for weathering the crisis. Joining town councilor Karen D'Andrea for the business town hall meeting will be Maine House representatives Sean Flaherty and Peggy Pendleton, Maine senators Larry Bliss and Phil Bartlett, SEDCO, the chamber, and other representatives from the town. Local and state agencies and organizations also attending include SBA, FAME, SCORE, DECD, MTI, USPS, MITC, CMP, USM, the Center for Career Development, and the Small Business Development Center, among others. The small business town hall meeting and resource fair are free and open to all Scarborough businesses. Businesses are also encouraged to attend the Scarborough Community Chamber's "Business After Five" networking event following the business town hall meeting where they will be able to network and continue to take advantage of the resource fair. For more information on this event, or to participate, please contact Karen D'Andrea at KD'[email protected] or 207-730-4198 x6202.

Also the week of May 18, municipal representatives from Scarborough, Portland, South Portland and Westbrook will be attending the BIO2009 international biotech show in Atlanta. This regional cooperative effort to attract biotech companies to Greater Portland has been underway for the past three years. If you are a biotech company located in Greater Portland, please feel free to contact one of these four communities to find out more about the BIO2009 show; it is an important opportunity. And, if you're going to be in Atlanta at that time, please feel free to stop by the conference and visit our booth; we'd love to talk to you about doing biotech in Greater Portland. Visit www.greaterportland.org for additional information.
Clearly, there is a lot going on in Scarborough. Our office is cognizant of the current difficult economic times we're all facing and we are ready and willing to offer new and existing businesses our free and confidential services. Please contact our office today if you are an existing Scarborough business and you require our assistance, or if you are a new business that is thinking about locating in Scarborough; we are more than happy to assist you in whatever capacity we can. SEDCO is ready and waiting to help your business succeed in Scarborough!
Julie Bassett is the assistant director of the Scarborough Economic Development Corp. (SEDCO), Scarborough.