George Katilus IV, a resident of Portland, runs Swell Affair, a small surf goods business.

On April 30, I rolled out of bed at 6 a.m. and threw a surfboard in the truck. At 6:40, I passed Scarborough Town Hall and spotted 30-40 people in colorful rain jackets lined up around the building — an odd sight, as the office doesn’t open until 7.

I continued on to Pine Point to catch a few waves on an empty beach, sharing the view with some gulls and shuttered vacation homes. Surfing is usually where I can relax, enjoy nature and be present.

On that day, my mind was fixed on beach passes and how fast they’d sell out. I cut my session early and got my $200 pass at 9 a.m. By noon, all 350 nonresident passes were gone — everyone else stuck paying $20 for a one-hour beach visit.

Last year, I wrote here about Scarborough’s moves to cut public beach access: $5 early-morning rates eliminated, meter rates raised, nonresident passes capped to 350 at $200 each.

The town’s reasoning was laughable: making change for $5 bills is hard; tracking who overstays the early-morning window is complicated; other towns charge more anyway (citing the famously affordable Kennebunk).

My point was simple: removing cheap access harms regular people trying to enjoy the outdoors, and forcing more people into $20 day rates hurts those already squeezed by an expensive state and world. The piece got a lot of support, and plenty of people twice my age tried to condescendingly lecture me about it.

A year later, most people aren’t in a better economic place. Gas is $4 a gallon and the inflation from our nation’s escapades in the Middle East is just getting started.

Scarborough released its beach revenues: $70,000 more than before the changes, 278 additional resident passes issued, $44,000 more from daily rates.

Town leadership gloated about the revenue and claimed the changes improved accessibility. But an increase of 278 resident passes out of 7,000 issued is a blip compared to the grandstanding the town has displayed around increasing accessibility for residents.

There’s talk of a better parking system coming. Maybe. But do prices ever actually go back
down? All of this leaves a sour taste.

Whatever Scarborough thinks its brand is, to me it’s a big sign when you enter town: Not for you. I’m still not a landed gentry in Scarborough with subsidized beach access. I shuffled into Town Hall and handed over a $200 check for a pass that a lot of people just can’t afford.