Put A Bullet Through A Parking Meter For Charity?

Sarasota is trying to figure out how it will unload all of those the city commission decided to get rid of without much luck, though some creative solutions are being presented.

Would you put a bullet through one if you had the chance? Commissioner Shannon Snyder thinks so.

“I say we have a fundraiser down at the gun range with one of them and put it on YouTube and see how fast everyone negotiates,” Snyder said, as the commission laughed when he brought up the idea at the commission's meeting Monday, July 2. “We’re getting paid for a product that doesn’t work, and if that’s what they want then we should demonstrate to everyone what they think about their product and how well it worked.

“They would think twice about negotiating pennies on the dollar. Sometimes you gotta play hardball with everybody.”

“I think it would be a great charity event,” Snyder continued. “Take all the people that hate them down there and five dollars a piece with a slug, I think we’d make a fortune.”

Deputy City Manager Marlon Brown said staff is exploring selling the 47 pay stations to other jurisdictions from around the country after it found that pay station manufacturer Duncan would settle to pay the city $1,000 to reacquire each meter. However, each meter cost the city $7,000, Brown said. That would still be a $282,000 deficit.

The city’s contract with Duncan also didn’t provide any power to place blame on Duncan for faulty equipment or breach of contract, Brown added.

“The terms of the contract ties our hands in terms of what we can do with the company,” Brown said. 

It’s unclear if the commission would eventually pull the trigger on Snyder's proposal or keep it in their holster while staff explores the sale.