Neither Rain, Sleet, Nor. . .

Tornado warnings and a deluge of rain on May 4 were not enough to keep the city of Fayetteville’s parking enforcement officers from writing tickets on the downtown square. We thought at first this was how the city planned to make up for the revenue it’s losing to Benton County since the opening of the regional airport at Highfill.

But Brian Swain, the city of Fay-etteville’s special projects analyst, credits Chip Arledge, known as “the Rotund One” on KEZA-FM, Magic 107.9, with the city’s aggressive parking ticket approach.

He says Arledge had criticized the city over the air for not writing tickets when it rained, and even suggested the use of plastic bags to keep the tickets dry.

The Rotund One told us the only thing he’s gigged the city about lately is its parking meter prices. Each meter carries a notice: “30 minutes for a nickel. One hour for a dime. And for your convenience, two hours for a quarter.”

It’s no wonder Swain was confused. Arledge has championed frustrated parking ticket victims since challenging the city in municipal court in 1996 over his own tickets. He claimed the city used selective enforcement when issuing tickets.

(As a side note, Arledge lost the $80 case when Judge Rudy Moore threw it out of court).

Whatever the reason, the city is definitely monitoring its meters closely.

“If they were writing them during the tornado warning, I’d be surprised,” Swain says.

We were surprised – we got one during the storm.