Toothpicks, metal slugs, buttons and flattened bottle caps are the souvenirs of almost two decades of failed attempts to fool parking meters.
For 17 years, Randy Fulks has emptied and maintained Athens’ more than 800 parking meters, often discovering more than just loose change.
“People will try everything to get free parking,” Fulks said.
Despite people’s best efforts to avoid feeding the meters, the city of Athens grossed almost $400,000 last year — a number Fulks said has consistently increased during his tenure with the city.
For example, more students have been spending breaks in Athens throughout the years, Fulks said, adding that meters have typically been used less when Ohio University is not in session.
“Used to be I didn’t have to collect as much during breaks,” Fulks said. “Now, I have to collect almost weekly.”
Fulks added that the switch to semesters later this year will benefit the meters because students will be in school for six more weeks.
“(The transition) would likely have some impact,” said Ray Hazlett, deputy city auditor. “Perhaps not as drastic as people would think because students always try to park without paying.”
Money collected from the parking meters contributes to the city’s general fund, Hazlett said.
During the past 11 years, the city has slowly been switching from mechanical parking meters, which have the same mechanical properties as a clock, to the new 9-volt-battery-powered meters. Not only do the new meters measure coin size like their predecessors, they also have a “smart” chute that identifies coins by their metal content.
“Every once in a while, the chute has to be retrained to recognize a coin,” Fulks said. “So we run, say, dimes through it and teach it to recognize a dime.”
Each meter’s coin reservoir usually holds anywhere from $35 to $40, Fulks said, meaning he has to empty the meters at least once a week.
A day of emptying meters typically results in him pushing around a 120–150-pound canister full of change, totaling about $3,000, he said.
On top of coin-collecting duties, Fulks is responsible for maintaining the health and functionality of all the meters in the city.
The most common ploy, he said, is intentionally jamming the meters, resulting in the screen to display a malfunction message rather than an expired message.
Athens Police Chief Tom Pyle said theft from the meters is a concern.
“We have had periods of time where we suspect the meters have been stolen from,” Pyle said.
Pyle added that the perpetrators are usually from out of state as it is not an easy crime to commit. The thieves would have to have access to a key maker, Pyle said, and they would be dealing with large amounts of money.
“There are years that we estimate as much as $50,000 to $70,000 had been stolen from the meters,” Pyle said.
This happened in the past, he added, and it has been quite some time since there have been theft-related problems with the meters.
“(Randy Fulks) has been doing his job for a while,” Pyle said. “He is good at what he does.”
sm366909@ohiou.edu
