CHAPTER 154 - CITIES AND TOWNS—BETHANY BEACH
AN ACT TO AUTHORIZE THE COMMISSIONERS OF THE TOWN OF BETHANY BEACH TO BORROW $20,000.00 TO REDEEM OUTSTANDING BONDS OF THE TOWN OF BETHANY BEACH.
WHEREAS, by act of the General Assembly of the State of Delaware approved March 26, A. D. 1909, being Chapter 212 of Volume 25, Laws of Delaware, The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach were authorized and empowered to borrow upon the faith and credit of said town the sum of Twenty Thousand ($20,000.00) Dollars and for the purpose of securing the payment of said sum to issue bonds of the Town of Bethany Beach of such denomination as the Commissioners should deem best and bearing a rate of interest not exceeding five per centum; and,
WHEREAS, it is now the intent and purpose of this act that said indebtedness represented by said outstanding bonds amounting to the sum of Twenty Thousand ($20,000.00) Dollars shall be refunded at a lower rate of interest.
NOW, THEREFORE,
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met (two-thirds of all the members elected to each branch thereof concurring therein):
Section 1. That The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach, a municipal corporation of the State of Delaware, be and it is hereby fully authorized and empowered to borrow upon the faith and credit of the Town of Bethany Beach the sum of Twenty Thousand ($20,000.00) Dollars or so much thereof as may be necessary to redeem the outstanding bonds issued under authority of Chapter 212 of Volume 25, Laws of Delaware, and, as security therefor, to issue bonds which shall be known as Bethany Beach Refunding Bonds.
Section 2. That the said bonds shall be of such denomination as The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach shall hereafter determine and shall bear interest at such rate not exceeding four per centum per annum, as The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach shall determine. The interest upon the said bonds shall be payable semi-annually on the first day of July and January respectively in each and every year from the date of issue appearing thereon at such bank or trust company in Sussex County, State of Delaware, as The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach may designate. The principal of said bonds shall be made payable at such times and in such manner as The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach may hereafter designate, the said The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach, however, reserving the right and authority to redeem said bonds or any part of them at such time or times from the date of issue and in such manner as said Commissioners may hereafter provide. Such election shall be effected on a day on which the semi-annual interest shall be due and in pursuance of a notice to that effect published by the said The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach in at least two newspapers, one of which shall be in Sussex County, at least thirty days prior to the date on which said bond or bonds shall or are to be redeemed. In calling said bonds for redemption and payment, they shall be called by lot or by number, as the said The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach may hereafter provide, and the interest on said bond or bonds so called in and redeemed shall cease from the date fixed in said notice for the redemption thereof and the said bonds, when paid, shall be cancelled. If at any time after the issue of said bonds and before they shall be payable or called in and redeemed, as herein provided, any holder or holders of any such bond or bonds shall offer the same for redemption, the said The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach, if it shall deem it expedient so to do, may redeem or pay the bond or bonds so offered and cancel the same, the interest on said bond or bonds so redeemed and cancelled to cease from the date of such redemption.
Section 3. That the said bonds shall recite that they are issued for the purposes set forth in Section 1 of this act and that they are issued in pursuance of this act. Such recital shall be conclusive evidence of the authority of The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach to issue said bonds and of their validity. Any such bonds containing such recital shall in any suit, action or proceeding, in law or equity, involving their validity, be conclusively deemed to be fully authorized by this act and to have been issued, executed and delivered in conformity herewith and shall be incontestable for any cause. The said bonds may be issued notwithstanding that any of the officers signing them or whose facsimile signature appears on any coupons, if coupons should be issued, shall have ceased to hold office at the time of such issue or at the time of the delivery of said bonds.
Section 4. That the said The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach shall direct and effect the preparation and printing of the bonds authorized by this act and shall also prescribe the form thereof. Said bonds shall be signed by the President of The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach and counter-signed by its Secretary and shall be sealed with the corporate seal of said Commissioners. Said bonds shall be exempt from all State, county and municipal taxation. Each of said bonds may or may not, as the said The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach shall hereafter determine, contain coupons providing for the payment of the interest thereon as said interest shall become due. Said bonds and any coupons which may be thereon, as the same shall be paid, shall be cancelled in such manner as the said The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach shall hereafter direct.
Section 5. That the said bonds shall be sold as soon as reasonably possible after the approval of this act. It shall be the duty of The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach to negotiate the sale and delivery of said bonds in such manner as it shall hereafter determine for the best interests of the Town of Bethany Beach and the said The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach shall have the right to reject any and all bids which may be offered for said bonds if in its judgment such bid or bids shall be deemed insufficient. The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach may sell or dispose of said bonds at private sale for the best price obtainable therefor, provided said price shall not be less than par and accrued interest.
Section 6. That the said The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach shall annually provide for a sum equal to the amount of interest due each year upon said bonds, and, as and when the said The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach shall see fit to call any or all of said bonds under Section 2 hereof, shall in like manner provide for a sum sufficient for the payment or redemption of such bonds, in addition to the amount necessary to pay the interest thereon. The said The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach is further authorized and empowered to assess and collect annually a tax for the purpose of establishing a sinking fund adequate for the redemption at and before maturity of bonds issued under the provisions of this act. Such monies so received shall be deposited by The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach in any bank or trust company in Sussex County or may be invested until such time as it may be needed for the redemption of said bonds on such security as shall be approved by the said The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach.
Section 7. The faith and credit of The Commissioners of the Town of Bethany Beach are hereby expressly pledged for the payment of the bonds authorized to be issued under the provisions of this act, together with all interest thereon.
Approved April 18, 1941.