Dunedin city councillor Neil Collins provided the sweeteners for each of his peers at a council planning and environment committee meeting this week, hoping it would help oil the wheels of democracy, and promote support for the free parking scheme.
The date was also a symbol of the ageing process, and the marshmallow a good food for those with fewer teeth, he joked.
His ploy was successful.
The committee voted for the free parking at all metered parks after originally deciding to adopt a more limited free parking policy.
Under rules discussed earlier this year, people aged over 75 would have received free parking for up to four hours in all areas, apart from George St, the council's Frederick St car park and metered off-street parks.
But in August, Cr Collins said that meant older people would be denied parking near the railway station and the library, and he urged a re-think.
The committee voted for a return to what was basically its existing policy, which still excludes free parking in George St between the Octagon and Frederick St,
