COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 36
(By Senator Wiedebusch)
____________
[Originating in the Committee on Government Organization;
reported January 25, 1996.]
____________
A BILL to authorize the municipalities of Cairo, Harrisville and
Pennsboro to construct and maintain a centralized water
treatment plant, storage facilities and transmission lines
for the purpose of providing potable water to those
municipalities; authorizing the municipalities to create the
Hughes river water board to assume ownership of the
facilities; membership; powers and duties; board of
directors; bylaws; rules; support, maintenance and
operation; funds; and severability.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
HUGHES RIVER WATER BOARD.
§1. Municipalities of Cairo, Harrisville and Pennsboro
authorized to create and join the Hughes River Water
Board.
The municipalities of Cairo, Harrisville and Pennsboro are hereby authorized and empowered to create a joint endeavor of the
three governing authorities and join a board to be known as the
Hughes river water board to own and operate a centralized water
treatment plant, water storage facilities and transmission lines
to provide these and other municipalities with potable water.
The board shall have the power and authority to own and operate
a water treatment plant and transmission system to sell and
contract for the sale of water and to provide for the proper
maintenance, repair and upgrade to the water system, including
the power of eminent domain to buy, sell or lease real and
personal property and to take all other actions as may be
necessary to carry out such purposes.
§2. Board of directors; appointment; powers and duties
generally; officers; bylaws; rules.
There shall be a board of directors, consisting of one
member representing each of the participating municipalities.
The municipalities shall make appointments to the board through
their duly constituted government authorities as provided herein.
No later than the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred
ninety-six, the municipality of Cairo shall appoint one member of
the board of directors for the term of three years. The
municipality of Harrisville shall appoint one member for the term
of four years. The municipality of Pennsboro shall appoint one member for the term of five years. Although members shall serve
from date of appointment, terms of office shall expire as if said
terms had commenced on the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-six. Each successor member of the board of
directors shall be appointed by the respective municipality that
appointed the predecessor member and each successor member shall
be appointed for a term of three years, except that any person
appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of
the term shall serve only for the unexpired portion thereof. Any
member of the board shall be eligible for reappointment and the
appointing municipality which appointed the member may remove
that member at any time for any reason. There shall be an annual
meeting of the board of directors on the second Monday in July of
each year and a monthly meeting on the day in each month which
the board may designate in its bylaws. A special meeting may be
called by the president or any two members of the board and shall
be held only after all of the directors are given notice thereof
in writing. At all meetings two members shall constitute a
quorum and at each annual meeting of the board of directors it
shall elect, from its membership, a president, a vice president,
a secretary and a treasurer: Provided, That a member may be
elected both secretary and treasurer. The board of directors
shall adopt those bylaws and rules which it deems necessary for its own guidance and for the administration, supervision and
protection of the water board and all of the property belonging
to the water board. The board of directors shall have all the
powers necessary, convenient and advisable for the proper
operation, equipment and management of the water board; and
except as otherwise especially provided in this act, shall have
the powers and be subject to the duties which are conferred and
imposed, upon the cooperating municipalities by article
twenty-three, chapter eight of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended. The qualifications
of the directors shall be determined by each participating
municipality.
§3. Same--A body corporate.
The Hughes River Water Board hereby created shall be a
public corporation and governmental instrumentality. As such it
may contract and be contracted with, sue and be sued, plead and
be impleaded and shall have and use a common seal.
§4. Title to property.
The title to all property, both real and personal, now
devoted to the water facilities that will provide potable water
to the municipalities in connection with the operation by it
shall vest in the board of directors of the Hughes river water
board, hereby created.
§5. Support, maintenance and operation.
Each governing authority of the municipalities that appoint
membership to the board of directors or that are served by the
water facilities governed by the board hereby created may support
the board with general or special revenues or excess levies. All
income realized by the operation of the water board from the sale
of water to municipalities or from any other sources shall be
used by the board of directors for the support of the Hughes
river water board.
§6. Deposit and disbursement of funds.
All money collected or appropriated by the three governing
authorities for water board purposes shall be deposited in a
special account for the Hughes river water board, and shall be
disbursed by the board for the purpose of operating a public
water system.
§7. Workers' compensation; social security and public employees'
retirement benefits for employees.
All employees of the Hughes river water board hereby created
shall be entitled to the benefits of the provisions of chapter
twenty-three, and articles seven and ten, chapter five of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended.
§8. Effect of future amendments of general law.
Amendments to article twenty-three, chapter eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, and other general laws shall control this act only to
the extent that they do not conflict with the special features
hereof, or unless the intent to amend this act is clear and
unmistakable.
§9. Severability.
If any provision hereof is held invalid, such invalidity
shall not affect other provisions hereof which can be given
effect without the invalid provision, and to this end the
provisions of this act are declared to be severable.