Chapter 274
2008 -- S 2701
Enacted 07/08/08
A N A C T
AUTHORIZING
THE TOWN OF EAST GREENWICH TO FINANCE THE CONVERSION OF THE SWIFT GYMNASIUM
INTO A SENIOR AND COMMUNITY CENTER AND THE CONVERSION OF THE FORMER POLICE
STATION INTO OFFICES FOR THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, AND THE CONSTRUCTION,
RENOVATION, ALTERATION, DEMOLITION, IMPROVEMENT, REHABILITATION, EQUIPPING,
FURNISHING AND LANDSCAPING OF SUCH FACILITES IN THE TOWN AND ALL ATTENDANT
EXPENSES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO ENGINEERING AND ARCHITECTURAL COSTS AND
TO ISSUE NOT MORE THAN $4,000,000 BONDS AND/OR NOTES THEREFOR
Introduced
By: Senators Lenihan, and Raptakis
Date
Introduced: February 26, 2008
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. The
town of East Greenwich is herby empowered, in addition to authority
previously granted, to issue bonds to an amount
not exceeding four million dollars ($4,000,000),
or such lesser amount as is determined by
resolution of the town council pursuant to section 12
hereof, from time to time under its corporate
name and seal. The bonds of each issue may be
issued in the form of serial bonds or terms
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 of
principal, the first installment to be not later than
five (5) years and the last installment not
later than thirty (30) years after the date of the bonds.
All such bonds of a particular issue may be
issued in the form of zero coupon bonds, capital
appreciation bonds, serial bonds or term bonds
or a combination thereof. Annual installments of
principal may be provided for by maturity of
principal in the case of serial bonds or by mandatory
serial redemption in the case of term bonds. The
amount of principal appreciation each year on
any bonds, after the date of original issuance,
shall not be considered to be principal indebtedness
for the purposes of any constitutional or
statutory debt limit or any other limitation. The
appreciation of principal after the date of
original issue shall be considered interest. Only the
original principal amount shall be counted in determining
the principal amount so issued and any
interest component shall be disregarded.
SECTION 2. The
bonds shall be signed by the manual or facsimile signatures of the
town director of finance and the president of
the town council and shall be issued and sold in such
amounts as the town council may authorize by
resolution. The manner of sale, denominations,
maturities, interest rates and other terms,
conditions and details of any bonds or notes issued
under this act may be fixed by proceedings of
the town council authorizing the issue or by
separate resolution of the town council 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. Interest coupons
(if any) shall bear the manual or facsimile
signature of the town director of finance. The proceeds
derived from the sale of the bonds shall be
delivered to the town director of finance, and such
proceeds, exclusive of premium and accrued
interest, shall be expended: (a) to finance the
conversion of the Swift Gymnasium into a senior
and community center and the conversion of the
former police station into offices for the
public works department, and the construction,
renovation, alternation, demolition, improvement,
rehabilitation, equipping, furnishing and
landscaping of such facilities in the town and
all attendant expenses, including but not limited to
engineering and architectural costs (“the
project”), (b) in payment of the principal of or interest
on temporary notes issued under the section 3,
(c) in repayment of advances under section 4, (d)
in payment of related costs of issuance of any
bonds or notes and/or (e) to finance capitalized
interest on the project. 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 project
shall be carried out and all contracts made
therefor by the town council on behalf of the town.
The proceeds of bonds or notes issued under this
act, any applicable federal or state assistance
and other moneys referred to in sections 6 and 9
shall be deemed appropriated for the purposes of
this act. The bond issue authorized by this act
may be consolidated for the purposes of issuance
and sale with any other bond issue of the town
heretofore or hereafter authorized, provided that,
notwithstanding any such consolidation, the
proceeds from the sale of the bonds authorized by
this act shall be expended for the purposes set
forth above. The town director of finance and
president of the town council, on behalf of the
town, are hereby authorized to execute such
instruments, documents or other papers as either
of them deem necessary or desirable to carry out
the intent of this act and are also authorized
to take all actions and execute all instruments,
documents or agreements necessary to comply with
federal tax and securities laws, which
instruments, documents or agreements may have a
term coextensive with the maturity of the
bonds authorized hereby, including rule 15c2-12
of the Securities and Exchange Commission and
to execute and deliver a continuing disclosure
agreement or certificate in connection with the
bonds or notes.
SECTION 3. The
town council may by resolution authorize the issuance for time to time
of interest bearing or discounted notes in
anticipation of the issuance of bonds or in anticipation
of the receipt of federal or state aid for the
purpose of this act. The amount of original notes
issued 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 town director of finance.
Temporary notes issued hereunder shall be signed
by the manual or facsimile signature of the
town director of finance and the president of
the town council and shall be payable within five
(5) years from 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 interest thereon shall
not exceed five (5) years. Any temporary notes in
anticipation of bonds issued under this section
may be refunded prior to the maturity of the notes
by the issuance of additional temporary notes,
provide that no such refunding shall result in any
amount of such temporary notes outstanding at
any one time in excess of two hundred percent
(200%) of the amount of bonds which may be
issued under this act, and provided further that if
the issuance of any such refunding notes results
in any amount of such temporary notes
outstanding at any one time in excess of the
amount of bonds which may be issued under this act,
the proceeds of such refunding notes shall be
deposited in a separate fund established with the
bank which is paying agent for the notes being
refunded. Pending their use to pay the notes being
refunded, moneys in the fund shall be invested
for the benefit of the town by the paying agent at
the direction of the town director of finance in
any investment permitted under section 5. The
moneys in the fund and any investments held as
part of the fund shall be hold in trust and shall be
applied by the paying agent solely to the
payment or prepayment of the principal of and interest
on the notes being refunded. Upon payment of all
principal of and interests on the notes, any
excess moneys in the fund shall be distributed
to the town. The town may pay the principal of
and interest on notes in full from other than
the issuance of refunding notes prior to the issuance
of bonds pursuant to section 1 hereof. In such
case, the town’s authority to issue bonds or notes
in anticipation of bonds under this at shall
continue provide that (1) the town council passes a
resolution evidencing the town’s intent to pay
off the notes without extinguishing the authority to
issued bonds or notes and (2) that the period
from the date of an original note to the maturity date
of any other note shall not exceed five (5)
years.
SECTION 4. Pending
any authorization or issue of bonds hereunder or pending or in lieu
of any authorization or issue of notes
hereunder, the town director of finance, with the approval of
the town council, may, to the extent that bonds or
notes may be issued hereunder, apply funds in
the treasury of the town 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 town
director of finance in demand deposits, time
deposits, or savings deposits in banks which are
member of the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation or in 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 law of the State of
Rhode Island or resolution of the town council or
pursuant to an investment policy of the town.
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 premium arising from the
sale of bonds or notes hereunder shall, in the
discretion of the town director of finance, be applied
to the cost of preparing, issuing and marketing
bonds or notes hereunder to the extend not
otherwise provided, to the payment of project
costs, to the payment of the principal of or interest
on bonds or notes issued hereunder or to any one
(1) or more of the foregoing. The cost of
preparing, issuing and marketing bonds or notes
hereunder may also, in the discretion of the town
director of finance, be met from bond or note
proceeds exclusive of premium and accrued
interests or from other moneys 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. To the extent
permitted by applicable by federal laws, any
earnings or net profit realized from the deposit
or investment of funds hereunder may, upon
receipt, be added to and dealt with as part of
the revenues of the town from property taxes. In
exercising any discretion under this section,
the town director of finance shall be governed by any
instructions adopted by resolution, of the town
council.
SECTION 7. All
bonds and note issued under this act and the debts evidence thereby
shall be obligatory on the town in the same
manner and to the same extent as other debts lawfully
contracted by it and shall be expected from the
operation of section 45-12-2 of the general laws
and any provision of the town charter. No such
obligation shall at any time be included in the
debt of the town for the purpose of ascertaining
its borrowing capacity. The town shall annually
appropriate a sum sufficient to pay the
principal and interest coming due within the year on bonds
and notes issued hereunder to the extent that
moneys therefor are not otherwise provided. If such
sum is not appropriated, it shall nevertheless
be added to the annual tax levy. In order to provide
such sum in each year and notwithstanding any
provision of law to the contrary, all taxable
property in the town shall be subject to ad
valorem taxation by the town without limitation as to
rate or amount.
SECTION 8. Any
bonds or notes issued under the provisions of this act, and coupons, if
any, if properly executed by officers of the
town 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 or all of such officers shall for
any reason have ceased to hold office.
SECTION 9. The
town, acting by resolution of its town council, is authorized to apply
for, contract for and expend any federal or
state advances or other grants of assistance which may
be available for the purposes of this act, and
any such expenditures may be in addition to the
moneys 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 effective 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 approval
of any governmental agency of the taking of any
proceedings or the happening of any conditions
except as specifically required by this act for
such issue. In carrying out any project financed in
whole or in part under this act, including where
applicable the 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 action shall
be taken which is 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. All or
any portion of the authorized by unissued authority to issue bonds
and notes under this act may be extinguished by ordinance
of the town council, without further
action by the general assembly.
SECTION 12. It
shall be a condition precedent to holding of the referendum described in
section 13 hereof and the issuance of bonds and
notes hereunder that the town council adopt a
resolution which provides for an exact amount of
bonds and notes to be issued.
SECTION 13. At a
general or local election to be held on a date that shall be designated
by the town council, there shall be submitted to
electors of the town a question in substantially the
following form:
“Shall the Town of
East Greenwich issue General Obligation Bonds and/or Notes in an
Amount No To Exceed $4,000,000 for the Purpose
of Financing the Conversion of the Swift
Gymnasium into a Senior and Community Center and
the Conversion of the Former Police
Station into Offices for the Public Works
Department, and the Construction, Renovation,
Alteration, Demolition, Improvement,
Rehabilitation, Equipping, Furnishing and Landscaping of
Such Facilities in the Town and all Attendant
Expenses, Including, But Not Limited To,
Engineering and Architectural Costs?” and the
warning for the election shall contain the question
to be submitted. From the time the election is warned
and until it is held, it shall be the duty of
the town clerk to keep a copy of this act
available for public inspection, but the validity of the
election shall not be affected by this
requirement. To the extent to any inconsistency between this
act and the town charter, this act shall
prevail.
SECTION 14.
Sections 12, 13 and 14 shall take effect upon the passage of this act. The
remainder of this act shall take effect upon the
approval of this act by a majority of those voting
on the question at the election prescribed by
the foregoing section.
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LC02314
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