On July 1, 1941, the Fargo City Commission officially approved an ordinance to implement a trial parking meter system, a move intended to alleviate parking congestion in the city’s business district. According to archives from the Fargo Chamber of Commerce and city records, the commission authorized the installation of 500 meters within 40 days.
The city entered into a contract with the Chicago-based National Park-O-Graf corporation. Under the agreement, the company would install the units at a cost of $65 each. The contract included a one-month trial period, allowing the city to remove the machines at no expense if they proved unsatisfactory. The revenue-sharing model stipulated that the company would retain 75 percent of the intake to cover installation costs until the machines were paid for, after which the city would claim all revenue.
The meters were designed to accept both pennies and nickels, offering 12 minutes of parking for a penny and one hour for a nickel. The project was strongly supported by the local business community, including the Fargo Chamber of Commerce, as a solution to the persistent difficulty shoppers faced in finding available parking near downtown storefronts.