Chapter 283
2004 -- S 3085
Enacted 07/02/04
A N A C T
PROVIDING
FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW MIDDLE SCHOOL AND THE
ACQUISITION
OF LAND THEREFOR AND FOR THE RENOVATION OF THE
PONAGANSET
HIGH SCHOOL AND PONAGANSET MIDDLE SCHOOL BY THE
FOSTER-GLOCESTER
REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT AND AUTHORIZING THE
FINANCING
THEREOF, INCLUDING THE ISSUE OF NOT MORE THAN $45,720,000.00
IN
BONDS THEREFOR
Introduced
By: Senators P Fogarty, Blais, Breene, Tassoni, and Gallo
Date
Introduced: May 05, 2004
It
is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. The Foster-Glocester Regional School District (a regional school district
organized
and existing under Chapter 109 of the Public Laws of 1958, as amended) is
hereby
empowered
and authorized, in addition to authority previously granted, to issue bonds in
an
amount
not exceeding $45,720,000.00 from time to time under its corporate name and
seal or a
facsimile
of such seal. The bonds of each issue may be issued in the form of serial bonds
or term
bonds
or a combination thereof and shall be payable either by maturity of principal
in the case of
serial
bonds or by mandatory serial redemption in the case of term bonds, in annual
installments
or principal,
the first installment to be not later than three (3) years and the last
installment not
later
than thirty-three (33) years after the date of the bonds. For each issue the
amounts payable
annually
for principal and interest combined either shall be as nearly equal from year
to year as is
practicable
in the opinion of the officers authorized to issue the bonds, or shall be
arranged in
accordance
with a schedule providing for a more rapid amortization of principal.
SECTION
2. The bonds shall be signed by the district treasurer and by the manual or
facsimile
signature of the chairperson or co-chairpersons of the regional school
committee and
shall
be issued and sold at not less than par and accrued interest in such amounts as
the regional
school
committee (hereinafter called the “committee”) may authorize. The manner of the
sale,
denomination,
maturities, interest rates, and other terms, conditions, and details of any
bonds
or/notes
issued under this act may be fixed by the proceedings of the committee
authorizing the
issue
or by separate resolution of the committee or to the extent provisions for
these matters are
not
so made, they may be fixed by the officers authorized to sign the bonds or
notes. The
proceeds
derived from the sale of the bonds shall be delivered to the district
treasurer, and such
proceeds,
exclusive of premiums and accrued interest, shall be expended (a) for the
designing,
constructing,
equipping and furnishing of a new middle school and for the renovation including
equipment
and furniture of the buildings currently housing the Ponaganset High School and
the
Ponaganset
Middle School, and the acquisition of land therefore a new middle school, or
(b)
payment
of the principal of or interest on temporary notes entered under this act, or
(c) and
repayment
of advances under this act. No purchaser of any bonds or notes under this act
shall be
in
any way responsible for the proper application of the proceeds derived from the
sale thereof.
The
projects shall be carried out and all contracts made therefor on behalf of the
district by the
regional
district building committee or as may be otherwise directed by the regional
school
committee.
The proceeds of bonds or notes issued under this act, any applicable state
assistance,
or
other monies referred to in this act shall be deemed appropriated for the
purposes of this act
without
further action than that required by this act.
SECTION
3. The committee may by resolution authorize the issuance from time to time
of interest
bearing or discounted notes in anticipation of the issue of bonds under section
2 or in
anticipation
of the receipt of federal or state aid for the purposes of this act. The amount
of
original
notes issued under this act in anticipation of bonds may not exceed the amount
of bonds
which
may be issued under this act and the amount of original notes issued in
anticipation of
federal
or state aid may not exceed the amount of available federal or state aid as
estimated by the
district
treasurer. Temporary notes issued hereunder shall be signed by the district
treasurer and
by
the chairperson or co-chairpersons of the committee and shall be payable within
three years of
their
respective dates, but the principal of and interest on notes issued for a
shorter period may be
renewed
or paid from time to time by the issuance of other notes hereunder provided the
period
from
the date of an original note to the maturity of any note issued to renew or pay
the same debt
or
the interest thereon shall not exceed three years.
SECTION
4. Pending any authorization or issuance of bonds hereunder or pending or in
lieu
of any authorization or issuance of notes hereunder, the district treasurer
with the approval of
the
committee may to the extent that bonds or notes may be issued hereunder apply
funds in the
treasury
of the district to the purposes specified in section 2; such advances to be
repaid without
interest
from the proceeds of bonds or notes subsequently issued or from the proceeds of
applicable
federal or state assistance or from other available funds.
SECTION
5. Any proceeds of bonds or notes issued hereunder or of any applicable
federal
or state assistance, pending their expenditure, may be deposited or invested by
the district
treasurer
in demand deposits, time deposits, or saving deposits, in banks which are
members of
the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or in other obligations issued or
guaranteed by the
United
States of America or by any agency or instrumentality thereof or as may be
provided in
any
other applicable laws of the state of Rhode Island.
SECTION
6. Any accrued interest received upon the sale of bonds or notes hereunder
shall
be applied to the payment of the first interest due thereon. Any premiums
arising from the
sale
of bonds or notes hereunder shall in the discretion of the district treasurer
be applied to the
cost
of preparing, issuing, and marketing bonds or notes hereunder to the extent not
otherwise
provided
or to the payment of the cost of the projects or to the payment of the
principal or of
interest
on bonds or notes issued hereunder or to any one or more of the foregoing. The
cost of
preparing,
issuing, and marketing bonds or notes hereunder may also in the discretion of
the
district
treasurer be met from bond or note proceeds exclusive of premium and accrued
interest or
from
other monies available therefor. Any balance of bond or note proceeds remaining
after
payment
of the cost of the project and the cost of preparing, issuing, and marketing
bonds or
notes
hereunder shall be applied to the payment of the principal of or interest on
bonds or notes
issued
hereunder. Any earnings or net profit realized from the deposit or investment
of funds
hereunder
shall upon receipt be added to and dealt with as part of the revenues of the
district
received
from the member towns. In exercising any discretion of this section, the
district treasurer
shall
be governed by any instructions adopted by resolution of the committee.
SECTION
7. All bonds and notes issued under this act and the debts evidenced thereby
shall
be obligatory on the district in the same manner and to the same extent as
other debts
lawfully
contracted by it. No such obligation shall at any time be included in the debt
of the
district
or of any of the member towns for the purpose of ascertaining its borrowing
capacity and
shall
be accepted from the operation of section 45-12-2 of the General laws with
respect to each
member
town and section 16-3-17 of the General Laws. The district shall annually
apportion
among
the member towns an amount sufficient to pay the principal and interest coming
due
within
the year on bonds and notes issued hereunder to the extent that monies therefor
not
otherwise
provided and each town shall annually appropriate a sum sufficient to pay its
share of
such
apportionment. If such sum is not appropriated by a member town it shall
nevertheless be
added
to the town’s annual tax levy. In order to provide such sum each year and
notwithstanding
any
provision of law to the contrary, all taxable property in each member town
shall be subject to
ad
valorem taxation by the town without limitation as to rate or amount to pay the
town’s share of
such
apportionment.
SECTION
8. Any bonds or notes issued under the provisions of this act, if properly
executed
by the officers of the district in office on the date of execution, shall be
valid and
binding
according to their terms notwithstanding that before the delivery thereof and
payment
therefor
any and all of such officers for any reason have ceased to hold office.
SECTION
9. The district acting by resolution of its committee is authorized to apply
for,
contract
for, and expend any federal or state advances or other grants or assistance
which may be
available
for the purpose of this act and any such expenditures may be in addition to
other monies
provided
in this act. To the extent of any inconsistency between any law of this state
and any
applicable
federal law or regulation, the latter shall prevail. Federal and state
advances, with
interest
where applicable, whether contracted for prior to or after the affected date of
this act, may
be
repaid as project costs under section 2.
SECTION
10. Bonds and notes may be issued under this act without obtaining the
approval
of any governmental agency or the taking of any proceedings or the happening of
any
conditions
except as specifically required by this act or such issue. In carrying out any
project
financed
in whole or in part in this act, including where applicable to condemnation of
any land
or
interest in land and in the levy and collection of assessments or other charges
permitted by law
on
account of any such project, all actions shall be taken which are necessary to
meet
constitutional
requirements whether or not such action is otherwise required by statute; but
the
validity
of bonds and notes issued hereunder shall in no way depend upon the validity or
occurrence
of such action.
SECTION
11. The question of the approval of this act shall be submitted to the voters
of
the
towns of Foster and Glocester at the general election to be held on November 2,
2004. The
question
shall be submitted in substantially the following form: “Shall an act passed at
the 2004
session
of the General Assembly entitled, ‘An act providing for the construction of a
new middle
school
and for the renovation of the Ponaganset High School and Ponaganset Middle
School and
the
acquisition of land therefor by the Foster-Glocester Regional School District
and authorizing
the
financing thereof, including the issue of not more than $45,720,000.00 in bonds
therefor’, be
approved?”
and the warning for the meeting shall contain the question to be submitted.
From the
time
the meeting is warned and until it is held, it shall be the duty of each town
clerk to keep a
copy
of the act available at their office for public inspection but the validity of
the meeting shall
not
be affected by this requirement.
SECTION
12. This section and section 11 shall take effect upon passage. The remainder
of
this act shall take effect upon the approval of this act by a majority of the
voters voting on the
question
as prescribed by section 11.
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LC03307
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