NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1967 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 1228

HOUSE BILL 1372

 

 

AN ACT RELATING TO THE JOINT ESTABLISHMENT AND operation of parks, playgrounds, and recreation centers.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

 

Section 1.  G.S. 160-164 is hereby amended by adding at the end thereof additional paragraphs to read as follows:

"In addition to any other methods by which cities and counties may carry out the joint authority set out above, the participating cities and counties may adopt a resolution creating a Commission for that purpose. The Commission shall be composed of such persons as the participating governing bodies may determine, and may consist wholly or in part of members of the participating governing bodies. Membership by a member of a governing body on the Commission is to be deemed an additional duty of his elected office on the governing board. Upon the establishment of such Commission by the adoption of an appropriate resolution by each of the participating governmental units, the said Commission shall thereupon come into being and shall have the powers, duties, and responsibilities as specified herein. The Commission member shall serve at the pleasure of the governing body appointing him.

"The Commission created pursuant to the authority of this Act shall elect such officers for such terms as the said Commission shall determine to be desirable. Members and officers of the Commission shall serve without compensation. The governing bodies creating the Commission may determine what the official name of the Commission is to be.

"The Commission created pursuant to this Act shall have the following powers and duties:

"(1)      To sue in any court of competent jurisdiction for the purpose of carrying into effect any of the powers or duties imposed by this Act or the purposes for which the Commission was created, or for the purpose of enforcing any contract or other obligation or liability to the Commission; and, to be sued in any court of competent jurisdiction as to any cause of action not prohibited by this Act or any other law, it being the intent of the General Assembly that the Commission so created, upon establishment, shall for purposes of carrying out the powers and duties granted herein, be considered a body corporate;

"(2)      To make rules, not inconsistent with this Act or the resolution of the governing bodies creating the said Commission, governing its procedure and the manner of executing its powers and duties;

"(3)      To exercise all powers that are granted to the said Commission by the resolution of the governing bodies creating same, which said powers may include all the powers that any one of the governing bodies participating in the creation of the Commission would have if acting alone insofar as the control, management, lease, equipment, improvement, maintenance, operation, and regulation of parks, playgrounds, and other recreational facilities and activities are concerned;

"(4)      The Commission shall not have authority to levy any taxes, issue any bonds, or create any debts which shall constitute a general liability of any of the governmental units participating in the creation of the Commission or that will be enforceable as to the property of any of the said governmental units or any of its citizens, but shall operate pursuant to budgets submitted by the Commission to the participating governmental units and appropriations made by the said governmental units, and no deviation from the approved budgets may be made without the approval of each of the participating governmental units;

"(5)      Subject to the general approval of the governmental units participating in the creation of the Commission, to employ persons, fix their compensation, and assign their duties, and to remove persons so employed for any reason satisfactory to the Commission;

"(6)      Subject to the general approval of the governing bodies creating the said Commission, to fix the rates and charges for all facilities and services at any facility or for any recreation program which is jointly established or operated through a Commission as provided in this Act;

"(7)      Subject to the approval of the governing bodies creating the Commission, to make all rules and regulations governing the operation and use of any facility or program placed within the jurisdiction of the Commission created hereunder, such rules and regulations not being inconsistent with lawful rules and regulations of any department or agency of the United States or of the State of North Carolina as established and existing from time to time, which rules and regulations shall be published as the Commission shall prescribe;

"(8)      Subject to the approval of the governing bodies creating the Commission, to enter into contracts of lease, license, concession, or otherwise with any person, partnership, or corporation for the operation and maintenance of any of the facilities placed under the jurisdiction of the Commission;

"(9)      To collect all revenues derived from the operation of any of the facilities placed under the jurisdiction of the said Commission, and to receive donations, grants, and any other like or similar revenues or property for use by said Commission in carrying out the parks, playground and recreational facilities and programs placed under the jurisdiction of the said Commission;

"(10)    To expend revenues or funds which the Commission receives by way of appropriations from the participating governmental units, the amount of each governmental unit's participation being determined by agreement of all participating governmental units, or which the Commission receives from operating the facilities placed under its jurisdiction, or from gifts, donations, grants-in-aid, or other sources, the entire budget of the Commission having been approved by the participating governmental units.

"All of the financial records of the Commission created hereunder shall be subject to the supervision and inspection of a county or city accountant or such other officer or agent as shall be designated by the cooperating governmental units, and the Commission shall make such reports from time to time as shall be required by the participating governmental units. The treasurer of the Commission shall give a bond in such amount as shall be fixed by the Commission, which bond shall be payable to the Commission and shall be conditioned upon the faithful performance of his duties as treasurer and his making a lawful accounting of all funds as treasurer of the Commission.

"Nothing contained in this Act shall interfere in any way with the establishment of parks or playgrounds or with the conduct of recreational programs by any one of the governmental units involved in the creation of the Commission, acting alone, and nothing contained in this Act shall in any way interfere with the conduct of recreational programs by any municipality or county pursuant to authority of law, it being the purpose of this Act to supplement all other legal authority to conduct recreational programs and to operate and maintain recreational facilities, and the same is to be in addition to all other laws and is in no way to restrict same."

Sec. 2.  This Act is hereby declared to be divisible, and if any part thereof shall be declared invalid or unconstitutional, all of the other parts thereof shall remain in full force and effect.

Sec. 3.  All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this Act or any part thereof are, to the extent of such conflict only, hereby repealed.

Sec. 4.  This Act shall be in full force and effect from and after ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 6th day of July, 1967.