Senate Bill No. 489

(By Senators Unger and Snyder)

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[Introduced February 10, 1999;

referred to the Committee on Government Organization.]

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A BILL to authorize a roundhouse authority in Berkeley County; creating public corporation; acquisition of property; membership and management; general powers; promulgation of rules to regulate traffic and penalties; right of eminent domain; tax exemptions; indebtedness; disposition of surplus; contributions; participation; and dissolution of authority.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
 BERKELEY COUNTY ROUNDHOUSE AUTHORITY.
§1. Regional roundhouse authority authorized.
The county commission of Berkeley County or the Berkeley County commission and any one or more municipalities located within Berkeley County are hereby authorized to create and establish one or more authorities for the purpose of acquiring, establishing, constructing, equipping, improving, financing, maintaining and operating the historic Baltimore and Ohio Railroad roundhouse property located in the city of Martinsburg, for various uses: Provided, That no such municipality or county shall participate in such authority unless and until the governing body or county commission so provides.
§2. Authority to be public corporations.
Each authority when created and established, and the members thereof, shall constitute a public corporation and as such, shall have perpetual succession, may contract and be contracted with, sue and be sued, and have and use a common seal.
§3. Authority empowered and authorized to acquire, operate, etc., roundhouse property.
Each authority is hereby empowered and authorized to acquire, establish, construct, equip, improve, finance, maintain and operate for purposes they consider appropriate, the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad roundhouse located in the city of Martinsburg and appurtenant facilities so located to best serve the region in which the said property is located.
§4. Management of authority vested in members; appointment and terms of members; vote of members, valuation of property contributed to an authority.
The management and control of the authority, its property, operations, business and affairs shall be lodged in a board of not less than five nor more than twenty-one individuals who shall be known as members of the authority and who shall be appointed for terms of three years each by the municipalities and the county commission contributing moneys or property to the authority. However, the first board shall be comprised of two members appointed by each participating municipality and five members appointed by the county commission and any member shall serve a term of one year, beginning as of the date the authority is created.
The county commission shall appoint not more than fifteen members to the authority and participating municipalities collectively, shall appoint not more than six members. All members shall serve at the will and pleasure of the appointing body.
§5. Substitution of members.
If any member of an authority die, or resign, or be removed or for any other reason cease to be a member of the authority, the municipality or the county commission which the member represented shall appoint another individual to fill the unexpired portion of the term of the member.
§6. Qualification of members.
All members of the board of each authority shall be residents of the municipality or county which said members represent.
§7. Compensation of members.
No member of the board of an authority shall receive any compensation, whether in form of salary, per diem allowance or otherwise, for or in connection with his or her services as a member. Each member shall, however, be entitled to reimbursement by the authority for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred with the performance of his or her duties as a member.
§8. Powers of authority generally.
Each authority is hereby given plenary power and authority as follows:
(1) To make and adopt all necessary bylaws and rules for its organization and operations not inconsistent with law;
(2) To elect its own officers, to appoint committees and to employ and fix the compensation for personnel necessary for its operation;
(3) To enter into contracts with any person, including both public and private corporations, or governmental department or agency, and generally to do any and all things necessary or convenient for the purpose of acquiring, establishing, constructing, equipping, improving, financing, maintaining and operating the roundhouse property and appurtenant facilities to best serve the region in which it is located;
(4) To delegate any authority given to it by law to any of its officers, committees, agents or employees;
(5) To apply for, receive and use grants-in-aid, donations and contributions from any source or sources, including, but not limited to, the federal government and any department or agency thereof, and this state subject to any constitutional and statutory limitations with respect thereto, and to accept and use bequests, devises, gifts and donations from any person;
(6) To acquire lands and hold title thereto in its own name;
(7) To purchase, own, hold, sell and dispose of personal property and to sell, lease or otherwise dispose of any real property which it may own;
(8) To borrow money and execute and deliver negotiable notes, mortgage bonds, other bonds, debentures and other evidences of indebtedness therefor, and give security therefor as shall be requisite, including giving a mortgage or deed of trust on its properties and facilities or assigning or pledging the gross or net revenues therefrom;
(9) To raise funds by the issuance and sale of revenue bonds in the manner provided by the applicable provisions of article sixteen of this chapter, it being hereby expressly provided that for the purpose of the issuance and sale of revenue bonds, each authority is a "governing body" as that term is used in said article only;
(10) To establish, charge and collect reasonable fees and charges for services or for the use of any part of its property or facilities, or for both services and use;
(11) To expend its funds in the execution for the powers and authority herein given;
(12) To apply for, receive and use loans, grants, donations, technical assistance and contributions and from any regional or area commissions that may be established; and
(13) To prescribe by bylaw the manner of financial participation by members.
§9. Rules and regulations to control vehicular and pedestrian traffic; violation of rule and regulations a misdemeanor; penalty.
The county commission is hereby empowered and authorized, upon request of the authority, to adopt and promulgate rules and regulations to: (1) Control the movement and disposition of vehicular and pedestrian traffic within the property; (2) regulate and control vehicular parking within the property by the installation of parking meters or by other methods; and (3) impose reasonable charges for the use of the parking space so metered or otherwise allocated, so as to provide maximum opportunity for the public use thereof.
Violation of any rule and regulation shall constitute a misdemeanor and the offender, upon conviction in the manner provided by law, may be fined not less than two dollars nor more than ten dollars for each violation. Magistrates shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit courts and with statutory courts of record having criminal jurisdiction for the trial of offenses under this section.
§10. Indebtedness of authority.
Each authority may incur any proper indebtedness and issue any obligations and give any security therefor which it may consider necessary and advisable in connection with carrying out its purposes and hereinbefore mentioned.
No indebtedness or obligation incurred by an authority shall give any right against any member of the governing body of any of the municipalities, or the county commission or any member of the board of the authority. No indebtedness of any nature of an authority shall constitute an indebtedness of any municipality or county or the governing body of any municipality or the county commission or be a charge against any property of any municipality or county. The rights of creditors of an authority shall be solely against the authority as a corporate body and shall be satisfied only out of property held by it in its corporate capacity.
§11. Agreements in connection with obtaining funds.
Each authority may, in connection with obtaining moneys or property for its purposes, enter into any agreement with any person, including the federal government, or any department, agency or subdivision thereof, containing such provisions, covenants, terms and conditions as the authority may consider advisable.
§12. Authority to have right of eminent domain.
Whenever it shall be considered necessary by an authority, in connection with the exercise of its powers herein conferred, to take or acquire any lands, structures or buildings or other rights, either in fee or as easements, for the purposes herein set forth, the authority may purchase the same directly or through its agents from the owner or owners thereof, or failing to agree with the owner or owners thereof, the authority may exercise the power of eminent domain in the manner provided for condemnation proceedings in chapter fifty-four of this code, and such purposes are hereby declared to be public uses for which private property may be taken or damaged: Provided, That under no circumstances shall an authority have the right of immediate entry.
§13. Property, bonds and obligations of authorities exempt from taxation.
Each authority shall be exempt from the payment of any taxes or fees to the state or any subdivisions thereof or any municipalities or to any officer or employee of the state or of any subdivision thereof or of any municipality.
The property of each authority shall be exempt from all municipal and county taxes. Bonds, notes, debentures and other evidences of indebtedness of the authority are declared to be issued for a public purpose and to be public instrumentalities, and, together with interest thereon, shall be exempt from taxation.
§14. Authority may lease facilities.
Each authority may lease all or part of the property and all or any part of the appurtenances and facilities therewith to any available lessee, subject to all constitutional and statutory limitations with respect thereto, at such rental and upon such terms and conditions as the authority shall consider proper.
§15. Disposition of surplus of authority.
If any authority should realize a surplus, whether from operating the property or leasing it for operation, over and above the amount required for the equipping, improvement maintenance and operation of the property and for meeting all required payments on its obligations, it shall set aside such reserve for future equipping, improvements, maintenance, operations and contingencies as it shall consider proper and shall then apply the residue of the surplus, if any, to the payment of any recognized and established obligations not then due, and after all such recognized and established obligations have been paid off and discharged in full, the authority shall, at the end of each fiscal year, set aside the reserve for future equipping improvements, maintenance, operations and contingencies, as aforesaid, and then pay the residue of such surplus, if any, to the municipalities and the county in direct proportion to their contribution for moneys and property.
§16. Contributions to authority; funds and accounts of authorities.
Contributions of moneys may be made to authorities from time to time by the participating municipalities and the county and persons that shall desire to do so. All such moneys and all other moneys received by an authority shall be deposited in a banking institution or banking institutions as the authority may direct and shall be withdrawn therefrom in a manner as the authority may direct. Each authority shall keep strict account of all of its receipts and expenditures and shall each quarter make a quarterly report thereon to the municipalities and the county which have made contributions of moneys or property, and the report shall contain an itemized account of its receipts and disbursements for the preceding fiscal year, and publish the same as a Class II-O legal advertisement in compliance with the provision of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for the publication shall be the municipalities and the county, as provided in section one of this article. The books, records and accounts of each authority shall be subject to audit and examination by the office of the state tax commissioner and by any other proper public official or body in the manner provided by law.
The county commission of Berkeley County is hereby authorized to convey to the authority any and all real and personal property to which it holds title and which property will enhance the authority's ability to own, manage and operate the aforesaid B&O Railroad roundhouse property.
§17. Participation.
The municipalities and the county or any one or more of them participating therein, jointly or severally, are hereby empowered and authorized to appoint members of the authorities and to contribute to the cost of acquiring, establishing, constructing, equipping, improving, maintaining and operating the property and appurtenant facilities.
Any of the municipalities or the county as provided in section one of this article is hereby empowered and authorized to convey or transfer to the authorities property of any kind heretofore acquired by the municipalities or the county.
§18. Dissolution of authority; disposition of assets after payment of debts.
In the event full and adequate provision is made for the payment of all of the debts of an authority, the participating municipalities or the county or any combination thereof which have contributed at least sixty percent of the total value of all moneys and property (the value of which property is determined as specified in section four of this article) contributed to the authority by the participating municipalities and the county may by resolution provide for the dissolution for the authority and for: (1) The conveyance of the real and tangible personal property contributed to it to those participating municipalities and the county which contributed the same; (2) equitable distribution among the contributing municipalities and the county of any real and tangible personal property purchased or condemned by the authority or of the proceeds of sale thereof, or the fair value thereof; and (3) the equitable distribution of all moneys on hand to the participating municipalities and the county in direct proportion to the contribution of moneys by them.
§19. Employees to be covered by workers' compensation.
All eligible employees of any authority shall be considered to be within the workers' compensation statute of this state and premiums on their compensation shall be paid by the authority as required by law.
§20. Liberal construction of article.
The purposes of this article are to provide for the acquisition, establishment, construction, equipping, improvements, financing, maintenance and operation of the property in a prudent and economical manner, and this article shall be liberally construed as giving to any authority created and established hereunder full and complete power reasonably required to give effect to the purposes hereof. The provisions of this article are in addition to and not in derogation of any power granted to or vested in municipalities and county commissions under any constitutional, statutory or charter provisions which may now or hereafter be in effect.



NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to authorize the creation of the Berkeley County Roundhouse Authority.

This local bill is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.