In a vote of 4-1, the Scarborough Town Council has approved installing a new, solar-powered parking meter for 11 contentious public parking spots on Bayview Avenue in Higgins Beach.

The councilors voting in the majority last week said it’s their hope that the action taken will put to bed the nearly nine-month debate that’s raged in town about how to best deal with what many beach residents see as problem behavior.

That behavior ranged from abusing the one-hour limit for the on-street parking spots to changing clothes, to tailgating and loud noise, particularly in the early morning.

With councilors Peter Hayes voting against, Kate St. Clair absent, and Bill Donovan abstaining, the other four agreed with Council Chairwoman Jessica Holbrook that adding a parking meter next summer is the “only thing we could do to have a little more order down” at the beach.

But, several people who spoke at the Nov. 4 council meeting agreed with Hayes that the parking meter is too expensive and doesn’t solve anything.

Resident Maureen Cyr said the meter represents “too much micro-management” of beachgoers and said overall that, “too much of an issue is being made of 11 (parking) spaces.”

And another resident, Joan Leary, asked how the town could consider spending $17,000 for a parking meter. “It’s absurd and Scarborough has so many other needs,” she said.

Hayes echoed those two speakers when he argued that, “as tight as resources are, is this really the highest and best use” of town funds?

But Councilor Jean Marie Caterina said, “I’ve given a lot of thought to this and I feel this is the way to go at this point.”

According to a report provided to the Town Council by Town Manager Tom Hall at its Oct. 21 meeting, buying, installing, servicing and monitoring the multi-space meter would cost $16,825 for the first year.

The meter itself costs $7,500, the monthly service fee for five months would total $325, the cost to install the meter is estimated at $500 and additional staffing to monitor the meter would cost the town $8,500 just for the first year of operation.

To monitor the metered parking spots, Hall has recommended that the town also expand its use of reserve officers.

The new schedule would have a reserve officer monitoring the beaches from 5:30 a.m.-9 p.m. on weekdays, and until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights from May 1 through Sept. 15 each year.

A full season of expanded hours would cost the town approximately $18,500, which Hall said could be considered in the fiscal year 2016-2017 budget request.