Delaware General Assembly

CHAPTER 200

FORMERLY

SENATE BILL NO. 102

WHEREAS, the Nanticoke Indian Association is a non-profit, Delaware corporation, given favorable tax treatment pursuant to § 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, established to preserve the history, culture, and tribal heritage of the Nanticoke Indian;

WHEREAS, the Nanticoke Indian Association has used the property and building located at 27073 John J. Williams Highway in Sussex County (tax district 2-34; map 29.00; parcel 53.00) for a variety of purposes since the Association’s legal inception in 1920s; and

WHEREAS, prior to the 1920s, and until the desegregation of the State’s schools in the 1960s, this property was continuously used by the Nanticoke people of the Indian River area, and after its inception the Nanticoke Indian Association, as a school for their children; and

WHEREAS, beginning in the 1960s, this property took on new functions, first as a meeting place for the Association and later, through the 1970s until today, as a cultural and community center; and

WHEREAS, as presently used, this property provides a tangible benefit to the citizens of Delaware in general, and to the Nanticoke people of the Indian River area specifically, as a focal point for local, state, and federal programs and to community support for the Nanticoke people of the Indian River area; and

WHEREAS, to better serve its current function, the Nanticoke Indian Association has undertaken to restore and renovate the property, in part to install a new community computer center; and

WHEREAS, although many in the local community and the Nanticoke Indian Association believed that the building and property were owned by the Nanticoke Indian Association, as a result of the restoration and renovation activities, the Nanticoke Indian Association recently discovered that the property is in fact owned by the Indian River School District; and

WHEREAS, the General Assembly finds and declares that it would be in the best interest of the citizens of Delaware and of the parties involved to transfer said building and property to the Nanticoke Indian Association in fee simple;

NOW, THEREFORE,

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:

Section 1. The transfer and conveyance of that certain parcel of land, and all structures situated thereon, located at 27073 John J. Williams Highway in Sussex County (tax district 2-34; map 29.00; parcel 53.00), from the Indian River School District to the Nanticoke Indian Association for the consideration of one dollar ($1.00), is hereby specifically approved, notwithstanding (1) any provisions of Senate Bill No. 239 of the 142^nd General Assembly, as amended; (2) any provisions of Chapter 94, Title 29 of the Delaware Code; or (3) any provisions of any other laws or regulations to the contrary.

Section 2. The Department of Administrative Services, or other appropriate State agency, is hereby authorized and empowered to execute and deliver to the Nanticoke Indian Association a good and sufficient deed to the said real property.

Section 3. The Nanticoke Indian Association agrees to accept the property in “as is” condition at the time of conveyance.

Section 4. The deed to the aforesaid real property shall contain a provision whereby said property will revert to the Indian River School District in the event that the property ceases to be used by the Nanticoke Indian Association as a social or cultural center for the advancement and preservation of the history, culture, and tribal heritage of the Nanticoke Indian.