09-LA089
2009 -- H 5992 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 11/13/09
A N A C T
RELATING TO THE
ABBEY LANE COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION, INC. WATER DISTRICT
Introduced By: Representative Scott M. Pollard
Date Introduced: March 17, 2009
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Sections 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of 2008 Local Act
87, entitled “An Act to
Incorporate the Abbey Lane
Condominium Association, Inc. Water District,” are hereby amended
to read as follows:
Section
1. All that part of the town of
hereby incorporated into a special water district to be
called the Abbey Lane Condominium
Community Association, Inc. Water District. The boundaries of the Abbey Lane Condominium
Community
Association, Inc. Water District, hereinafter referred to as the “district,”
are defined
by the limits of: (A) Tax Assessor's Plat 17, set forth shown on the tax
assessor's maps
of the town of . These ,
these limits meaning and intending to include the public
and private streets, roads, and
thoroughfares listed and all public and privately held properties
and land abutting thereto.
As used in this act,
the term “the district” shall mean such area and property as set forth
in Tax Assessor's Plat 17, Lot 47A the tax assessor's
maps of the town of
and located on
The purpose of the Abbey
Lane Condominium Community Association, Inc. Water
District
shall be to secure, maintain and provide a water supply and water service for
all purposes
including fire protection, manufacturing and domestic
use in said Abbey Lane Condominium
Community Association, Inc. Water District. Said district may, within its discretion, sell water
to
and purchase water from any city or town, any municipal
or quasi-municipal corporation, any
incorporated water company or any water company owned or operated
by a city or town. Said
district shall have a common seal, may sue and be sued and shall
enjoy other powers generally
incident to corporations. Said district shall also have powers
and control over all septic systems
authority over the maintenance of all on-site wastewater
treatment systems in said district,
provided that such powers shall not be exercised in violation
of any rule pertaining to septic
systems regulation of established by either the
department of health or the department of
environmental management. Provided further, said
The district
shall not have powers the power of eminent domain, of or
condemnation, or
and shall not have the authority to issue bonds, without an express
legislative act of the general
assembly.
Section
3. An The annual meeting of said
the district shall be held on the first Monday
Thursday in
May at 7:30 6:30 p.m. of each year occurring after the
acceptance by the district of
this act. Special meetings may be called and held in
accordance with the provisions of the by-
laws. All meetings of the district, including the first
meeting called to act upon the acceptance or
rejection of this act, shall be warned by posting a notice of
the call of the meeting, which notice
shall specify the time and place of the meeting with a
reference to the business to be transacted or
acted upon at said meeting, in at least three (3)
conspicuous places within the district at least
seven (7) days next prior to the date of said meeting. All
meetings shall be held within the town
of Foster, at such place as specified in the notice of
the call or as provided in the by-laws.
Section
4. The first meeting shall be called by any five (5) qualified electors
of the
district for purposes of this Section 4 and shall be held at
such time and place as is specified in the
notice of the call of the meeting, provided that said date
shall occur not later than twelve (12)
months from the date of the passage of this act. A vote by
ballot shall be taken at said first
meeting upon the proposition, “Shall the Abbey Lane Condominium
Community Association,
Inc. Water District be established according to the
act of incorporation passed by the general
assembly of the state?” If a majority of the persons so voting
shall vote in the affirmative then
said Abbey Lane Condominium Community Association,
Inc. Water District shall be established
according to the provisions of this act, but if a majority of
the persons so voting shall vote in the
negative, then this act shall become null and void. Said first
meeting shall be organized by the
election of a moderator, a clerk, and a committee of
three (3) persons, qualified electors in the
district for purposes of this Section 4, who shall act at the
meeting as a board of canvassers. Said
board of canvassers shall be provided by the tax assessor
of the town of
persons who are property owners within the district and shall
also be provided by the
Condominium Community
Association, Inc. with a list of the persons who are ratepayers within
the service area of the condominium association, and such
persons shall be the qualified electors
of the district for the purposes of this section;
provided, that if more than one person has an
ownership interest in real property or more than one person
shares a water service connection, for
purposes of this section, then only one such person sharing an
ownership interest or sharing a
connection shall be entitled to vote, such that there shall be
not more than one elector for each
water service connection entitled to vote. The name of any
person whose right to vote at said
meeting is challenged shall be referred by the moderator
to the committee who shall forthwith
determine the question as to whether said person is qualified
to vote and take part in the
proceedings of the meeting and shall so report forthwith to
said moderator. At said meeting said
district, after acceptance of the act, may proceed to adopt
by-laws and effect a permanent
organization or it may adjourn to a date determined by vote.
Section
5. The officers of the district, their duties, and their
compensation may be fixed
and provided by the by-laws of the water district,
provided that there shall be a manager, a
moderator, a clerk, a
president, a vice president, a clerk, a treasurer, a tax collector, a tax
assessor,
a board of directors of five (5) members and such other officers as the district may from time
to
time deem necessary to conduct its business and affairs. The
president, vice president, and clerk
shall constitute the board of directors. The president,
vice president, and clerk shall be district
residents and qualified electors of the town of
shall be appointed in the manner provided in the by-laws.
The treasurer, tax collector, and tax
assessor need not be qualified electors of the town of
employees of the district. A paid employee of the district may hold
more than one office.
Said district shall
cause proper books of record to be kept by its proper officials, and any
qualified resident of said district may at all reasonable times
inspect said books of record.
The initial officers
of the district and the initial board of directors shall be elected by
members voters of the water district after and
if there is a successful passage approval of this act.
in accordance with the vote prescribed in the previous
section. The initial terms of said initial
board shall consist of two (2) members of the board for
three (3) year terms, two (2) for two (2)
year terms, and one for a one year term. The initial
officers and directors shall serve for the initial
terms provided and until their successors are elected and
qualified at the annual meeting of the
district. Unless otherwise provided in the by-laws, all officers
shall thereafter be elected at the
annual meeting of the district to hold office for the term
of one year and until their successors are
elected and qualified, and the board of directors shall be
elected for staggered three (3) year
terms. The duties of the officers and directors in the
district shall be similar to the duties of like
officials in towns except the board of directors which shall
have and perform such duties in
accordance with law and not inconsistent with the provisions of
this act. Any vacancy occurring
in any office may be filled for the unexpired
term in accordance with the provisions of the by-
laws. Provided, however, that no individual is to hold
more than one office, be it appointed or
elected. The
president, vice president and clerk shall serve staggered three (3)-year terms.
Initially, a president shall be elected to a term of
one year, a vice president shall be elected to a
term of two (2) years, and a clerk shall be elected to a
term of three (3) years. Thereafter, the
qualified electors of the district shall elect one member of the
board of directors at each annual
meeting. Members of the board of directors shall serve until
their successors are qualified.
Vacancies in office shall be filled in accordance with
the provisions of the by-laws. No individual
shall serve in more than one elected office simultaneously. The board of directors shall meet as
often and conduct its meetings in such a manner as shall be
prescribed by the by-laws.
Section
6. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act the
district shall have
the right and power to purchase, rent, lease, or
otherwise acquire, and to hold, rent, lease,
mortgage, sell or otherwise dispose of any real or personal
estate or of any interest, claim or other
rights therein.
Said district may
distribute and provide water for all purposes including fire protection,
and domestic and manufacturing uses, within or
without the district, or may authorize the same to
be done, and may regulate the use thereof, the quantity
available for, and the rate or price to be
paid therefore, within and without the district and may
develop water sources within the district.
Said district, for the purpose or purposes aforesaid,
may contract to carry out any works to be
constructed or authorized to be constructed by it, over or under
any highway, turnpike, road,
street or right-of-way of the district in such manner as not
to obstruct permanently or impede
travel thereon; and may enter upon and dig up any
highway, turnpike, road, right-of-way or street
of the district for the purpose of laying pipes or
building aqueducts upon or beneath the surface
thereof, or for the purpose of repairing the same; all such work
upon or in the highway or street to
be under the direction of the town council of the town
in which said road or street is located.
Said
district shall also have all the powers and privileges
conferred upon corporations in general by
chapter 7-1.1 of the general laws, as amended, Title 7, Chapter 6 of the general laws, as
amended,
insofar as the same are applicable to, consistent with and
not repugnant to the nature and purpose
of this act. Said district is hereby authorized to
contract for and to procure water for the purposes
specified in this act, in such lawful manner as may seem
necessary and proper, and for such
purposes and in such manner may establish wells and may erect
or cause to be erected for its use
any buildings, tanks, containers, or other storage and
any pipes, pipelines and other equipment
that it may deem necessary for its purposes under this act,
and also to have authority to construct,
modify, and/or remove any septic system or leach field
within said district. Provided, the Abbey
Lane Condominium Association, Inc. Water District is
not authorized and empowered to
condemn land or to exercise the power of eminent domain.
Provided further, that the provided,
however, that the
district shall not permit persons outside of the district to tie directly into
the
district's water system. via
water or sewer pipes or similar devices.
Section
7. Said district shall have power to enact by-laws for the regulation
and conduct
of its meeting meetings and its business,
which may include rules and regulations for and the
rates and conditions upon which water and service shall be
supplied. ,also rules and provisions
under which constables or other officers for the
enforcement of law may be engaged for the
protection of the property and rights of the district, and for For any breach thereof
the of its by-
laws may provide a penalty not to exceed a fine of one
hundred dollars ($100) one thousand
dollars ($1,000), to
be recovered for the use of said district, or imprisonment for a term not
exceeding thirty (30) days for the protection of its property within the district. ,
which penalty
may be enforced by prosecution on complaint of any
officer of the district or police officer of the
town of
Section
8. The fiscal year of the district shall be from July January
1 to June 30
December 31.
in each year. The qualified electors of
the district at any legal meeting shall have
power and authority to order such taxes, and provide for
assessing and collecting the same, on the
taxable inhabitants and upon the ratable real estate and
tangible personal property and ratable
intangible personal property of said district, as they shall
deem necessary for purchasing and
procuring real and personal property or any rights therein and
for undertaking and carrying out
any business or thing lawfully authorized by this act,
for the current expenses of the district, for
the payment of such police services as they may deem
necessary for the protection of the property
and operation of the business of the district and also
for the payment of any indebtedness that has
been incurred by the district or for interest
thereon; and such taxes so ordered shall be assessed by
the assessor of the district on the taxable inhabitants
and upon ratable real estate and tangible
personal property and ratable intangible personal property
therein in accordance with the last
valuation made by the assessor of the town wherein the
property is located of Foster next
previous to said district assessment, adding, however, any
ratable property which may have been
omitted by said town assessor or which has been acquired
after said town assessment, and in all
cases where the town assessor has included property within
the district and property without the
district in one valuation the assessor of the district shall
make an equitable valuation of that
portion of the same lying within the district. ; and in assessing and collecting said taxes such
proceedings shall be had by the officers of said district, as
near as may be, as are required to be
had by the corresponding officers or towns in assessing
and collecting town taxes; and the
collector of taxes for said district shall, for the purpose of
collecting taxes assessed by said district
have the same powers and authority as are now by law
conferred on collectors of taxes for towns
in this state.
The district tax assessor and tax collector shall assess and collect
district taxes in the
same manner that municipal taxes are assessed and
collected, and shall have the duties and
authority conferred by law on municipal tax assessors and tax
collectors.
Said district may
provide for such deduction from the tax assessed against any person, if
paid by an appointed time and/or for such penalty by way
of percentage on the tax if not paid at
the appointed time, not exceeding twelve percent (12%)
per annum, as it shall deem necessary to
insure punctual payment.
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC02145/SUB A
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