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1999 SESSION


CHAPTER 272
An Act to amend and reenact §§ 3 and 5A of Chapter 24 of the Acts of Assembly of 1936, which provided a charter for the Town of Haysi in Dickenson County, relating to penalties and term of the mayor.
[H 1743]
Approved March 21, 1999

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That §§ 3 and 5A of Chapter 24 of the Acts of Assembly of 1936 are amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 3. The said town of Haysi shall have the following powers, to the extent that they, or any of them, may are not be prohibited or limited by general law or by the Constitution of Virginia or the United States Constitution:

(a) To Raise annually, by taxes and assessments in said the town, such sums of money as the council thereof shall deem deems necessary for the purposes of said the town, in such manner as said the council shall deem deems expedient in accordance with the Constitution of Virginia and of the United States.

(b) To Levy and collect taxes, and assessments on persons, property, subject to local taxation, privileges, amusements, business businesses, professions, and occupations; to issue licenses for the conduct or operation of privileges, amusements, business businesses, professions, and occupations; to and make and collect charges and fees therefor.

(c) To Impose special or local assessments for local improvements and to enforce payment thereof, subject to such limitations prescribed by the Constitution and laws of Virginia as may be in force at the time of the imposition of such special or local assessments.

(d) To Contract debts, borrow money and make and issue evidences of indebtedness, and have a common seal.

(e) To Expend the money of the town for all lawful purposes.

(f) To Acquire by purchase, gift, devise, condemnation or otherwise, property, real or personal, or any estate therein, within or without the town, for any of the purposes thereof; and to hold, improve, sell, lease, or mortgage the same or any part thereof, including any property now owned by the town.

(g) To Construct, maintain, regulate and operate public improvements of all kinds, including municipal and other buildings, grounds and structures necessary or appropriate for the use and proper operation of the various departments of the town.

(h) To Own, operate, and maintain water works waterworks, and to acquire in any lawful manner, in any county of the State Commonwealth, or from the United States government, such water, lands, proper rights and riparian rights as the council of said the town may deem deems necessary for the purpose of providing an adequate water supply to said the town, and of piping or conducting the same; to lay all necessary mains and service lines within and without the corporate limits of said the town; to erect and maintain all necessary dams, pumping stations and other works in connection therewith; to make reasonable rules and regulations for promoting the purity of its said water supply, and for protecting the same from pollution, and for this purpose to exercise full police powers and sanitary patrol over all lands comprised within the limits of the water shed tributary to any such water supply, wherever such lands may be located in this State Commonwealth; to impose and enforce adequate penalties for the violation of any such rules and regulations, and to prevent by injunction any pollution or threatened pollution of such water supply, and any and all acts likely to impair the purity thereof; and to carry out the powers herein granted, the said town may exercise within the State Commonwealth all powers of eminent domain provided by the laws of this State Commonwealth.

(i) To Own, operate, and maintain electric light and gas works either within or without the corporate limits of said the town, and to supply gas and electricity, whether the same be they are generated or purchased by said the town, to its customers and consumers both within and without the corporate limits of the said town, at such price and upon such terms as may be prescribed, and; to that end, it may contract to purchase electricity and gas from the owners thereof upon such terms as it may deem deems expedient.

(j) To Establish, impose, and enforce the collection of water, light, gas, and sewerage rates, and rates and charges for other services, products, or conveniences operated or furnished by the town;, and the said council may prescribe a different rate to be paid for such services and conveniences rendered to users or customers without the corporate limits from the charges made to those within the corporate limits of said the town.

(k) To Establish, enter, open, widen, extend, grade, improve, construct, maintain, light, sprinkle and clean public streets, highways, alleys, parkways and parks, and to alter or close the same; to regulate the weight of loads to be hauled or carried over and upon the streets; to regulate the use of all such highways, parks, streets, alleys, parkways, and public grounds; to prevent the obstruction and destruction, and injury to, any of such streets and highways; to require any railroad company operating a railroad at the place where any highway or street is crossed within the town limits to erect and maintain at such crossing any style of gate deemed proper, and keep a man in charge thereof, or keep a flagman at such crossing during such hours as the council may require in accordance with the general law of the State Commonwealth, and to regulate the length of time such crossings may be closed due to any operations of the railroad; to regulate the operation and speed of all cars and vehicles upon said the streets and highways, as well as the speed of all engines, cars, and trains of railroads within the town; to and permit or prohibit poles and wires for electric, telephone and telegraph purposes to be erected, and gas lines to be laid in the streets and alleys, and to prescribe and collect an annual charge for such privilege hereafter granted; to and require the owner or lessee of any electric light, telephone or telegraph pole or poles or wires now in use or hereafter erected to change the location or move the same, if necessary.

(l) To Acquire by gift, purchase, or by the exercise of the power of eminent domain within this State Commonwealth, land or any interest or estate in lands, rock quarries, gravel pits, sand pits, water and water rights, and the necessary roadways thereto, either within or without the town, and; acquire and install machinery and equipment and build the necessary roads and tramways thereto,; and operate the same for the purpose of producing materials required for any and all purposes of the said town.

(m) To Establish, construct, and maintain sanitary sewers, sewer lines, and cisterns and to require the abutting property owners to connect therewith, and to; establish, construct, maintain, and operate sewerage disposal plants, and to acquire by condemnation or otherwise, within or without the town, all lands, rights of way, and other rights and easements necessary for the purposes aforesaid,; and to charge and collect reasonable fees and assessments or costs of service for connecting with and using the same.

(n) Subject to the provisions of the Constitution of Virginia and of this charter, to grant franchises for public utilities.

(o) To Collect and dispose of sewerage, offal, ashes, garbage, carcasses of dead animals and other refuse, and to make reasonable charges therefor; to acquire and operate reduction or other plants for the utilization or destruction of such materials, or any of them,; and to contract for and, regulate and collect for the disposal thereof, and to, require and regulate collect for the disposal thereof.

(p) To Compel the abatement of all nuisances within the town, or upon property owned by the town beyond its limits, at the expense of the person or persons causing the same, or of the owner or occupant of the ground grounds or premises whereon the same may be, and to collect said the expense by suit or motion, or by distress and sale; to require all lands, lots and other premises within the town to be kept clean and sanitary and free from stagnant water, weeds, filth, and unsightly deposits, or to make them so at the expense of the owners or occupants thereof, and to collect said the expense by suit or motion, or by distress and sale; to regulate or prevent slaughter houses or other noisome or offensive business within the said the town, the keeping of hogs, or other animals, poultry or other fowl therein, or the exercise of any dangerous or unwholesome business, trade, or employment therein; to regulate the transportation of all articles through the streets of the town; to compel the abatement of smoke and dust, and prevent unnecessary noise; to regulate the location of stables and the manner in which they shall be kept and constructed; to regulate the location, construction and operation and maintenance of billboards; to provide how, when, and under what conditions awnings may project over the streets and sidewalks from buildings, and sidewalks may be used for advertising and display displaying signs and merchandise; to generally define, prohibit, abate, suppress, and prevent all things detrimental to the health, morals, aesthetics, safety, convenience, and welfare of the inhabitants of the town; and to require all owners or occupants of property having sidewalks in front thereof to keep the same clean and sanitary, and free from all weeds, filth, unsightly deposits, ice, or snow.

(q) The council may, in its discretion, Appoint a board of health for the town and invest it with authority for the prompt and efficient performance of its duties.

(r) To Inspect, test, measure, and weigh any commodity or article of consumption for use within the town, and to establish, regulate, license, and inspect weights, meters, measures and scales.

(s) To Extinquish and prevent fires, and to establish, regulate, and control a fire department or division; to regulate the size, heights, materials and construction of buildings, fences, walls, retaining walls and other structures hereafter erected, in such manner as the public safety and conveniences may require; to remove, or require to be removed or reconstructed, any building, structure or addition thereto, which by reason of dilapidation, defect of structure, or other causes, may have become dangerous to life or property, or which may be erected contrary to law; to establish and designate from time to time fire limits, within which limits wooden buildings shall not be constructed, removed to, added to, enlarged, or repaired, and to direct that any and all future buildings within such limits shall be constructed of stone, natural or artificial, concrete, brick, iron or other fireproof material; and may enact stringent and efficient laws for securing the safety of persons from fires in halls and buildings used for public assemblies, entertainments or amusements.

(t) To Charge and to collect fees for permits to use public facilities and for public service and privileges. Said The town shall have the power and right to charge a different rate for any service rendered or convenience furnished to citizens without the corporate limits from the rates charged for similar service to citizens within the corporate limits.

(u) To prevent any person having no visible means of support, paupers, and persons who may be dangerous to the peace and safety of the town, from coming to said town from without the same; and also to expel therefrom any such person who has been in said town less than twelve months.

(v) To Provide in or near the town lands to be used as burial places for the dead;, providing land for the same may be secured;, otherwise to or provide same as near as may be to the town; to improve and care for the same and the approaches thereto, and to charge for and regulate the use of ground therein; and to provide for the perpetual upkeep and care of any plot or burial lot therein, the town is authorized to take and receive sums of money by gift, bequest, or otherwise, to be kept invested, and the income therefrom used in and about the perpetual upkeep and care of the said lot or plot, for which the said donation, gift, or bequest shall have been was made.

(w) To Exercise full police powers and establish and maintain a department or division of police.

(x) To Restrain and punish drunkards, vagrants and street beggars; to prevent and quell riots, disturbances, and disorderly assemblages; to suppress houses of ill-fame, and gambling houses; to and prevent and punish lewd, indecent and disorderly exhibitions in said the town; and to expel therefrom persons guilty of such conduct who have not resided therein as much as one year.

(y) To License and regulate the holding and location of shows, circuses, public exhibitions, carnivals and similar shows or fairs, or prohibit the holding of the same or any of them within the town; to require every owner of a motor vehicle residing in said the town, on a date to be designated by the council, to annually register such motor vehicle and obtain a license to operate the same it by making application applying to the treasurer of said the town, and to require said the owner to pay an annual license fee therefor, to be fixed by the council, but said the license fee shall not exceed the amount charged by the State Commonwealth on said the machine.

(aa) To Do all things whatsoever necessary or expedient, and lawful to be done, for promoting or maintaining the general welfare, comfort, education, morals, peace, government, health, trade, commerce, or industries of the town, or its inhabitants.

(bb) To Prescribe any penalty for the violation of any town ordinance, rule or regulation, or of any provisions of this charter, not exceeding five hundred dollars, or twelve months’ imprisonment in jail, or both any penalty established by the Commonwealth for a similar offense.

(cc) To Prohibit and punish mischievous, wanton, or malicious damage to school property, public property, and private property.

(dd) To Prohibit and punish minors frequenting, playing in, or loitering in any public poolroom, billiard parlor or tenpin ten-pin alley, and to punish any proprietor or agent thereof for permitting same.

(ee) To Pass and enforce all by-laws, rules, regulations and ordinances which it may deem deems necessary for the good order and government of the town, the management of its property, the conduct of its affairs, and the peace, comfort, convenience, order, morals, health and protection of its citizens or their property, and to do such other things, and pass such other laws, as may be necessary or proper to carry into full effect, all power, authority, capacity, or jurisdiction, which is or shall be granted to or vested in said the town, or in the council or officers thereof, or which may be necessarily incident to a municipal corporation.

(ff) The town may Maintain a suit to restrain by injunction the violation of any ordinance, notwithstanding even though punishment may be provided for the violation of such ordinance.

§ 5A. The term of office of the mayor and councilmen in office at the time of the passage of this act shall terminate on July 1, 1980. At the regular municipal election to be held on the first Tuesday in May 1980, six councilmen shall be elected. Each of The three members receiving the highest number of votes in such election shall serve as members of the council for terms of four years each. The remaining three members shall serve for terms of two years each. At the regular municipal election to be held on the first Tuesday in May, 1982, and every two years thereafter, three councilmen shall be elected each for a term of four years. All terms shall begin on the first day of July next following the election. Each councilman shall serve until his successor shall have has been elected and qualified. The council shall be a continuing body, and no measure pending before such body shall abate or be discontinued by reason of expiration of term of office or removal of any of its members.

At the regular municipal election to be held on the first Tuesday in May of 1980 2000, and every two four years thereafter, the qualified voters shall elect a mayor to serve for a term of two four years or until his successor shall have has been elected and qualified. The mayor shall take office the first day of July next following his election.