CHAPTER 132
AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE COMMISSIONERS OF BETHANY BEACH TO BORROW $300,000 AND TO ISSUE BONDS TO SECURE THE PAYMENT THEREOF FOR THE PURPOSE OF REPAIRING, IMPROVING, EXTENDING OR ENLARGING THE WATER SYSTEM AND TO CONTROL AND REGULATE THE SAME.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware (two-thirds of all Members elected to each House thereof concurring therein):
Section 1. The Commissioners of Bethany Beach, a municipal corporation of the State of Delaware, be and it is hereby authorized and empowered to borrow money and issue bonds to secure the payment thereof on the full faith and credit of the said The Commissioners of Bethany Beach to provide funds for the repair, improvement, extension or enlargement of the water system of the Town of Bethany Beach; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, that the borrowing of the funds therefor shall have been authorized by the Commissioners of Bethany Beach and shall have been approved by the qualified voters of the Town of Bethany Beach, in the following manner.
Section 2. The Commissioners of Bethany Beach shall propose to the electors of the Town of Bethany Beach by resolution which shall state the amount of money to be borrowed for any of the purposes authorized by Section 1 above. The resolution shall also state the purpose for which the money is desired to be borrowed, the manner of securing the loan, and other facts relating to the loan which are deemed pertinent by the Commissioners of Bethany Beach and in their possession, and shall fix a time and place for holding a public hearing on the said resolution.
Section 3. Notice of the time and place of the hearing on the resolution authorizing the said loan shall be printed in a newspaper having a general circulation in the Town of Bethany Beach at least one week before the time and date set for said hearing.
Section 4. A second resolution shall then be passed by the Commissioners ordering a special election to be held not less than thirty (30) days nor more than sixty (60) days after the said public hearing to borrow the said money, for the purpose of voting for or against the proposed loan. The passing of the second resolution calling the special election shall ipso facto be considered the Commissioners' determination to proceed in the matter in issue.
Section 5. The notice of the time and place of holding the said special election shall be printed in two issues of a newspaper having a general circulation in the Town of Bethany Beach within thirty (30) days prior to the election, or distributed in circular form at least fifteen (15) days prior to the date of the said special election, or both, at the discretion of the Commissioners.
Section 6. At the special election, every owner of property, whether individual, partnership or corporation, shall have one (1) vote for every One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) or part thereof of assessed valuation of real estates located in said Town and the said vote may be cost either in person or by proxy.
Section 7. The Commissioners shall cause to be prepared, printed and have available for distribution a sufficient number of sample ballots marked or defaced in such a manner that they cannot be used at the election not less than five days prior to the date of the special election.
Section 8. The President of the Commissioners of Bethany Beach shall, prior to the date of the election, appoint and designate a Presiding Officer and sufficient Judges to act as a Board of Election. The members of the Board of Election shall be the judges of the special election and shall decide upon the legality of the voters offered and shall keep a list of all voters thereat. The Board of Election shall count the votes for and against the proposed loan and shall announce the result thereof. The Board of Election shall make a certificate under their hands of the number of votes cast for and against the proposed loan and shall deliver the same to the Commissioners which said certificate shall be entered on the minutes of the Commissioners and the original shall be filed with the papers of the Commissioners.
Section 9. The form of bond, the interest rate, the time of payment of interest, the classes, the time of maturity, and provisions as to the registration shall be determined by the Commissioners after the said special election. The bonds may be sold at either public or private sale, as determined by the Commissioners. The Commissioners shall provide, in the annual budget and in the fixing of any tax, sewer charge or tax or water rent, for the payment of interest on and principal of said bonds at the maturity or maturities thereof, and a sinking fund therefor. The faith and credit of "The Commissioners of Bethany Beach" shall be deemed to be pledged for the prompt payment of the bonds and interest thereon issued pursuant to the provisions of this Act, when the same have been properly executed and delivered for value.
Section 10. The bonded indebtedness for any purpose authorized by Section 1 of this Act shall not at any one time exceed the sum of Three Hundred Thousand Dollars ($300,000).
Section 11. The said The Commissioners of Bethany Beach is hereby authorized and empowered to do all things necessary for the repair, improvement, extension or enlargement of the water system and to provide for the care and maintenance of the same, and to purchase all such instruments, appliances and supplies as may be necessary for establishing and operating water system in said Town, and for furnishing the citizens and inhabitants thereof with proper and adequate water and water facilities and to effect the same The Commissioners of Bethany Beach shall have the power and authority to lay pipes and conduits under and along any of the streets, lanes, alleys or highways of said Town, or any road adjacent thereto, and also to contract and agree with the owner or owners for the occupation or purchase of any land or lands which may be necessary for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of this Act. In the event, however, that any owner of property should fail to agree with the Town, The Commissioners of Bethany Beach shall have full power of eminent domain over any lands or property rights required for any purpose connected with the repair, improvement, extension or enlargement of the water system and shall be able to condemn property rights for the use of the water system in the manner prescribed and set forth in Chapter 61, Title 10, Delaware Code of 1953, as heretofore or hereafter amended. The Commissioners of Bethany Beach shall have authority to require any premises to be connected to the water system and in the event that any property owner should neglect to connect his property immediately after ordered to do so by The Commissioners of Bethany Beach, the said Commissioners shall have the authority to connect the premises with the water system as ordered and to collect the cost of such connection by the same process as Town Taxes are collectable. The Commissioners of Bethany Beach
shall have the supervision and control of all public pipes and drains connected with said water system, whether within or without the corporate limits of the said Town of Bethany Beach, and may alter, repair and remove the same and may cause new pipes and drains to be made and opened. The Commissioners of Bethany Beach may cause such pipes and drains to be laid in any of the said streets, lanes, alleys or highways of the said Town in such manner and of such material as it, the said The Commissioners of Bethany Beach, may deem proper. The said The Commissioners of Bethany Beach is hereby authorized to make rules regulating the tapping and use of the water system by the owners of abutting land, and shall provide for the granting of permits for the same and for the payment of such tapping fees and water rental charges as the said The Commissioners of Bethany Beach shall deem proper.
Section 12. The Commissioners of Bethany Beach is authorized and empowered to engage the services of such agents and servants as it may deem necessary in the repair, improvement, extension or enlargement of the water system as herein provided.
Section 13. The Commissioners of Bethany Beach is hereby authorized and empowered to adopt such ordinances as it may deem necessary for the operation, management and control of said water system and may grant to all persons and corporations in the said Town of Millsboro the privilege of using said water system in such manner and upon such terms and conditions as may seem just and proper to the said The Commissioners of Bethany Beach.
Section 14. The Commissioners of Bethany Beach are authorized and empowered to return to the general fund of the municipality any funds for which bonds are issued pursuant to the provisions of this Act and not used for the repair, improvement, extension or enlargement of the water.
Section 15. Any Act inconsistent with the provisions hereof be and the same is hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency.
Approved June 16, 1965.