Chap. 356.—An ACT to provide a new charter for the Town of Grottoes, in
Rockingham County, Virginia; and to repeal all acts or parts of acts in
conflict herewith. {H 511]

Approved March 31, 1948

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. Section 1. The inhabitants of the territory embraced within
the present limits of the Town of Grottoes, as hereinafter defined, or
as the same may be hereafter altered and established by law, shall
constitute and continue a body politic and corporate, to be known and
designated as the Town of Grottoes, and as such shall have and mav
exercise all powers which are now, or may hereafter be, conferred upon
or delegated to towns under the Constitution and laws of the Common-
wealth of Virginia as fully and as completely as though such powers
were specifically enumerated herein, and no enumeration of particular
powers herein shall be held to be exclusive. The territory embraced
within the present limits of the Town of Grottoes is described by metes
and bounds as follows: Beginning on map of Business Portion, at the
intersection of the south line of 2nd Street with the west line of Ist
Avenue; thence, southerly with the west line of Ist Avenue to its inter-
section with the south line of a 20 foot walkway lying on the north side
of the Caverns Boulevard; thence with the south line of said 20 foot
walkway North 73 degrees 06 minutes West to a stake; thence North
16 degrees 08 minutes East 20 feet to a stake, a corner to a small
cemetery, in the north line of the Caverns Boulevard; thence North
73 degrees 06 minutes West along the southern end of the cemetery
to its corner at the east boundary line of the State highway; thence
along the west line of the cemetery and continuing along the east line
of State Highway No. 664 in a northerly direction to its intersection
with the dividing line between Augusta and Rockingham Counties ;
thence with said division line, westerly to the middle of South River ;
thence down the middle thread of said river and following the main
channel thereof to a point where the north line of 8th Street if produced
westerly would intersect said channel; thence in an easterly direction
with the north boundary line of 8th Street to its point of intersection
with the west boundary line of 9th Avenue; thence in a northerly direc-
tion with said west line of 9th Avenue to its intersection with the south
line of 15th Street; thence in an easterly direction with the south line
of 15th Street to its intersection with the west line of 8th Avenue:
thence with the west line of 8th Avenue northerly to its intersection with
the north line of 19th Street; thence with the north line of
19th Street in an easterly direction to its intersection with the west
line of 6th Avenue; thence in a northerly direction with the west
line of 6th Avenue to 21st Street; thence easterly with 21st Street
to the right of way of the Norfolk and Western Railway; thence south-
erly along west line of said Norfolk and Western Railway right of way
to a point where a line between the lands formerly owned by A. J.
Propes and D. E. Ham, and now owned by J. H. Roadcap, if extended
westwardly would interest the west line of the Norfolk and Western
Railway right of way; thence eastwardly along this aforementioned
former division line to the old back road to Port Republic, now State
Road No. 695; thence southerly along the west line of the said road
to the northern line of Middle Shendun; thence with the lines of Middle
Shendun, as shown on Map of Dunlay & Barnett, Roanoke, Virginia,
October, 1890, South 73 degrees 3934 minutes East to a stake; thence
North 23 degrees 09 minutes East 13.4 feet; thence South 59 degrees
5934 minutes East 882.2; thence South 23 degrees 0214 East 774.9 feet ;
thence North 58 degrees 1814 minutes West 191.25 feet; thence South
22 degrees 301%4 minutes West 1660.45 feet to the southeastern corner
of Middle Shendun ; thence continuing in the same direction to Shendun
Pass Street in the Villa Lot Portion of Shendun as shown on map,
May 27, 1891; thence in a southwest direction across the lands of John
H. Eutsler to a corner with Eutsler and Wolfe on the north side of the
Black Rock Springs Road, formerly a white oak; thence with the north
line of Wolfe’s 241% acre tract, South 34 degrees West to the southern
line of “B” Street, east of Berkeley Avenue; thence with the south line
of “B” Street across the Norfolk and Western, and leaving the Villa
Lot Portion, to the western line of the Norfolk and Western Railway
right of way; thence with the western line of the Norfolk and Western
right of way to the southern line of 2nd street ; thence with said southern
line of 2nd Street to the beginning. The greater portion of this territory
lies in Rockingham County, with possibly a very small portion thereof
lying in Augysta County, the boundary line at this point not being
accurately fixed. The streets and alleys mentioned in the above descrip-
tion are shown on maps of the Business Portion of Shendun, the Villa
Lot Portion of Shendun and Middle Shendun and are duly recorded
in the Clerk’s Office of the Circuit Court of Rockingham County,
Virginia.

It is the purpose of the above description to embrace and include
within the limits of the Town of Grottoes all land legally within the
boundaries of said town as of the date of the enactment of this charter.

Section 2. The administration and government of the Town of
Grottoes shall be vested in one body to be known as the council of the
Town of Grottoes, which said body shall consist of seven members, six
of whom shall be known as councilmen and one to be known as mayor,
all of whom shall be residents and qualified voters of the town. Each
member of the council may receive a salary for his services as such
member, the amount thereof to be fixed by the council, but such salarv
shall not be in excess of one hundred dollars per year for each such
member. The council may create, appoint or elect such boards, bodies,
departments or officers as may be permitted, required, or deemed neces-
sary or proper, and fix their compensation and define their duties.

Section 3. (a) At the regular municipal election to be held on the
second Tuesday in June in the year nineteen hundred and forty-eight and
every two years thereafter, there shall be elected, in the manner
prescribed by law, six councilmen and a mayor for terms of two years
beginning on the first day of September next following their election,
each of whom shall serve until his successor shall have been elected and
qualified. The council shall be a continuing body, and no measure pend-
ing before such body shall abate or be discontinued by reason of expira-
tion of term of office or removal of any of the members. Vacancies in
the council shall be filled for the unexpired term by a majority vote
of the remaining members. The present mayor and council shall con-
tinue in office until the expiration of the terms for which they were
respectively elected.

(b) The council shall, by ordinance, fix the time for their regular
meetings. Special meetings shall be called by the clerk of the council
upon request of the mayor or any three councilmen; reasonable notice
of each special meeting shall be given each member of the council; no
business shall be transacted at a special meeting except that for which
the special meeting is called, unless the council be unanimous.

Section 4. The council shall appoint a clerk, a treasurer and such
other officers as the council may deem necessary or proper, all of whom
shall hold office at and during the pleasure of the council, and shall
qualify for their respective offices as required by law, and shall furnish
such bonds as may be required by the council. The same person may
hold two or more of these offices, in the discretion of the council. The
officers as appointed by the council shall perform such services, and
receive such compensation, as the council may provide.

Section 5. The council shall appoint a town sergeant who shall
qualify and give bond in such amount as the council may require. The
sergeant shall be vested with the powers of a conservator of the peace,
and shall have the same powers and perform the same duties within
the corporate limits of the town and to a distance of one mile beyond,
as are now or were formerly had and performed by constables. He shall
perform such other duties, and receive such compensation, as the council
may provide.

Section 6. The mayor shall preside at the meetings of the council
and perform such other duties as may be prescribed by this charter, and
by general law, and such as may be imposed by the council consistent
with his office. He shall be entitled to vote upon measures pending before
the council only in event the other members voting are equally divided
for and against such measure. He shall be ex officio a conservator of the
peace within the town and within one mile of the corporate limits
thereof. He shall see that peace and order are preserved and that persons
and property within the town are protected. He shall try all violations
of town ordinances, unless this power is otherwise delegated by the
town council. He shall perform such other services and functions as may
be necessary or proper, and shall receive such compensation as may be
provided by the council.

Section 7. All contracts and obligations heretofore or hereafter
made by the council of the Town of Grottoes, while in office, not incon-
sistent with this charter, or the Constitution, or the general laws of this
State, shall be, and are hereby declared to be valid and legal.

Section 8. In addition to the powers elsewhere enumerated in this
charter and the powers conferred by general law and the Constitution,
the Town of Grottoes shall have the following powers:

(1) To raise annually, by levy of taxes and assessment in the said
town, on all such property, real and personal, as is now or may be subject
to taxation by towns by the laws of this Commonwealth, such sums of
money as the council thereof shall deem necessary for the purpose of
the said town, in such manner as the said council shall deem expedient
in accordance with the Constitution of this State and of the United
States; provided, however, that it shall impose no taxes on the bonds of
the said town.

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

(3) a. The town may, in the name of and for the use of the
town, contract debts and make and issue, or cause to be made and issued,
as evidence thereof, bonds, notes or other obligations, within the limita-
tions prescribed by the Constitution, and in accordance with the provi-
sions of law concerning bond issues by towns, upon the credit of the
town, or solely upon the credit of specific property owned by the town,
or solely upon the credit of income derived from property used in connec-
tion with any public utility owned and operated by the town.

b. Pending the issuance and sale of any bonds, notes or other
obligations by this act authorized, or in anticipation of the receipt of
taxes and revenues of the current fiscal year, it shall be lawful for the
town to borrow money temporarily and to issue notes or other evidences
of indebtedenss therefor, and from time to time to renew such temporary
loans or to use current funds to be ultimately repaid from the proceeds
of the said bonds, notes or other obligations or from the town taxes and
revenues, as the case may be.

(4) To expend the money of the town for all lawful purposes.
(5) 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 of the town; and to hold, improve, sell,
lease, mortgage, pledge, or otherwise dispose of the same or any part
thereof, including any property now owned by the town, provided that
the provisions of section thirty-eight hundred and thirty-two of the
Code of Virginia shall apply to any property belonging to any corporation
possessing the power of eminent domain that may be sought to be taken
by condemnation hereunder.

(6) To own, operate and maintain water works and to acquire in
any lawful manner in any county of the State, such waters, lands, prop-
erty rights, and riparian rights as the council of the said town may deem
necessary for the purpose of providing an adequate water supply to the
said town and of piping and conducting the same; to lay, erect and
maintain all necessary mains and service lines, either within or without
corporate limits of the said town, for the distribution of water to its
customers and consumers, both within and without the corporate limits
of the said town and to charge and collect water rents thereof; to erect
and maintain all necessary dams, pumping stations and other works in
connection therewith; to make reasonable rules and regulations for pro-
moting 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 control over all land comprised within the limits of the water
shed tributary to any such water supply wherever such lands may be
located in this State; 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 all powers
of eminent domain provided by the laws of this State.

(7) To collect and dispose of sewage, offal, ashes, garbage, car-
casses of dead animals and other refuse, and to make reasonable charges
therefor; to acquire and operate reduction or any other plants for the
utilization or destruction of such materials, or any of them; to contract
or regulate the collection and disposal thereof and to require and regu-
late the collection and disposal thereof.

(8) To inspect, test, measure and weigh any commodity or com-
modities, or articles of consumption for use within the town; and to
establish, regulate, license and inspect weights, meters, measures and
scales.

(9) To license and regulate the holding and location of shows,
circuses, public exhibitions, carnivals, and other similar shows or fairs,
or prohibit the holding of the same, or any of them, within the town or
within one mile thereof.

(10) To require every owner of motor vehicles residing in the
said town, on a date to be designated by the council, to annually register
such motor vehicles and to obtain a license to operate the same by making
application to the treasurer of the said town, or such other person as may
be designated by the council of the said town, to issue said license, and
to require the said owner to pay an annual license fee therefor to be fixed
by the council provided that the said license fee shall not exceed the
amount charged by the State on the said machine.

(11) To construct, maintain, regulate and operate public improve-
ments of all kinds, including municipal and other buildings, water works,
armories, sewage disposal plants, jails, comfort stations, markets, and
all buildings and structures necessary or appropriate for the use and
proper operation of the various departments of the town; and to acquire
by condemnation or otherwise, all lands, riparian and other rights, and
easements necessary for such improvements, or any of them; either within
or without the town, and to construct, maintain or aid therein, roads and
bridges to any property owned by the said town and situate beyond the
corporate limits thereof, and to acquire land necessary for the aforesaid
by condemnation or otherwise.

(12) To acquire, establish, enter, open, widen, extend, grade,
improve, construct, maintain and clean public highways, streets, side-
walks, boulevards, parkways and alleys, and to alter, vacate, or close
the same; to establish and maintain parks, golf courses, playgrounds, and
public grounds, to keep them lighted and in good order; to construct,
maintain and operate bridges, viaducts, subways, tunnels, sewers and
drains and to regulate the use of all such highways, parks, public grounds
and works; to plant and maintain or remove shade trees along the streets
and upon such public grounds; to prevent the obstruction of such streets
and highways; in so far as not prohibited by general law to regulate
the operation and speed of cars, and vehicles upon said streets and
highways, within the town and for a distance of one mile from the limits
thereof; and to do all other things whatsoever adapted to make said
streets and highways safe, convenient and attractive.

(13) To construct in such parks, playgrounds, and public grounds,
as it may maintain, or upon any town property, stadium, swimming
pools, gymnasia, and recreation or amusement buildings, structures, or
enclosures of every character, refreshment stands, restaurants, et cetera ;
to charge admission, and use of the same, and to rent out or lease the
privileges of construction or using such stadiums, swimming pools,
recreation or amusement buildings, structures, or inclosures of every
character, refreshment stands, or restaurants, et cetera.

(14) To establish, impose, and enforce the collection of water
and sewage rates and charges for town-owned public utilities, or other
services ; products, or conveniences, operated, rented or furnished by the
town: and to assess, or cause to be assessed, after reasonable notice to
the owner or owners, water and sewage rates and charges directly
against the owner or owners of the buildings or against the proper tenant
or tenants; and in event such rates and charges shall be assessed against
a tenant then the council may by ordinance require of such tenant a
deposit of such reasonable amount as it may by such ordinance prescribe
before furnishing such service to such tenant.
(15) To establish, construct, and maintain sanitary sewers, sewer
lines and systems, and to require the abutting property owners to connect
therewith and to establish, construct, maintain and operate sewage
disposal plants, and to acquire by condemnation or otherwise, within or
without the town, all lands, rights of way, riparian and other rights, and
easements necessary for the purposes aforesaid, and to charge, assess,
and collect reasonable fees, rentals, assessments or costs of service for
connection with and using the same.

(16) Subject to the provisions of the Constitution and general laws
of Virginia and this charter to grant franchises for public utilities;

rovided, however, the town shall at any time have the power to contract
or, own, operate, manage, sell, encumber or otherwise dispose of, either
within or without the town any and all public utilities for the town and
to sell the services thereof, any existing franchise to the contrary
notwithstanding.

(17) To charge and to collect fees for permits to use public facilities
and for public services and privileges. The said 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.

(18) To compel the abatement and removal 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 or premises whereon the same may be, and to
collect said 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 expenses by suit or motion or by distress and sale;
to regulate, or prevent slaughter houses or other noisome or offensive
business within the said 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, operation
and maintenance of billboards, signs, advertising, and generally to define,
prohibit, abate, suppress and prevent all things detrimental to the health,
morals, aesthetic sensibilities, 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 and snow.

(19) To extinguish and prevent fires, and to establish, regulate
and control a fire department or division, to regulate the size, height,
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, added
to, enlarged or repaired and to direct that any or all future buildings
within such limits shall be constructed of stone, natural or artificial,
concrete, brick, iron or other fireproof materials; and may enact strin-
gent and efficient laws for securing the safety of persons from fires in
halls and buildings used for public assemblies, entertainments or
amusements.

(20) To direct the location of all buildings for storing explosives
or combustible substances; to regulate the sale and use of gun powder,
nitroglycerine, fireworks, kerosene oil or other like materials ; to regulate
the exhibition of fireworks, the discharge of fire arms, and the making
of bonfires in the streets and yards.

(21) To provide for regular and safe construction of houses in the
town for the future, and to provide a building code for the town, to
provide set back lines on the streets beyond which no building may be
constructed, to require the standard of all dwelling houses be maintained
in residential sections in keeping with the majority of residences therein
and to require the standard of all business houses be maintained in
business sections in keeping with the majority of the business houses
therein.

(22) To provide for the preservation of the general health of the
inhabitants of said town, make regulations to secure the same, inspect
all foodstuffs and prevent the introduction and sale in said town of any
articles or thing intended for human consumption, which is adulterated,
impure or otherwise dangerous to health, and to condemn, seize and
destroy or otherwise dispose of any such article or thing without liability
to the owner thereof; to prevent the introduction or spread of contagious
or infectious diseases, and prevent and suppress disease generally; to
provide and regulate hospitals within or without the town limits, and
if necessary to the suppression of disease, to enforce the removal of
persons afflicted with contagious or infectious diseases to hospitals pro-
vided for them; to construct and maintain or to aid in the construction
and maintenance of a hospital or hospitals for the use of the people
of the town; to provide for the organization of a department or bureau
of health, to have the powers of a board of health for said town, with the
authority necessary for the prompt and efficient performance of its
duties, with the power to invest any or all the officials or employees of
such department of health with such powers as the police officers of the
town have, to establish quarantine ground within or without the town,
and establish such quarantine regulations against infectious and con-
tagious diseases as the council may see fit, subject to the laws of the
State and of the United States; and to provide for a bureau of vital
statistics and require physicians, midwives or parents to make reports
thereto.
(23) To provide and maintain, either within or without the town,
charitable, recreative, curative, corrective, detentive or penal institutions.

(24) To prevent fowls and animals being kept in or running at
large in the town, or any thickly populated portion thereof, and to subject
the same to such taxes, regulations and penalties as the council may
think proper.

(25) To prevent the riding or driving of horses or other animals
at an improper speed; to prevent the flying of kites, throwing of stones,
or engaging in any sort of employment in the public streets which is
dangerous or annoying to passersby, and to prohibit and punish the
abuse of animals.

(26) In so far as not prohibited by general law :—to control, regu-
late, limit and restrict the operation of motor vehicles carrying passen-
gers for hire upon the streets or alleys of the town; to regulate the use of
automobiles and other automotive vehicles upon the streets; to regulate
the routes in and through the town to be used by motor vehicle carriers
operating in and through said town and to prescribe different routes
for different carriers; to prohibit the use of certain streets by motor
trucks; and generally to prescribe such regulations respecting motor
traffic therein as may be necessary for the general welfare.

(27) To acquire, by condemnation, purchase or otherwise, provide
for, maintain, operate and protect aircraft landing fields either within
or without the corporate limits of the town.

(28) To exercise full police powers and establish and maintain a
department or division of police.

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

(30) To make and enforce ordinances, in so far as not prohibited
by the general laws of this State, to regulate, control, license and/or tax
the manufacture, bottling, sale, distribution, transportation, handling,
advertising, possession, dispensing, drinking and use of alcohol, brandy,
rum, whisky, gin, wine, beer, lager beer, ale, porter, stout, and all
liquids, beverages and articles containing alcohol by distillation, fermen-
tation or otherwise.

(31) To prohibit and punish for mischievous, wanton, or malicious
damage to school and public property, as well as private property.

(32) To offer and pay rewards for the apprehension and conviction
of criminals.

(33) To give names to or alter the names of streets.

(35) In so far as not prohibited by general laws, to pass and
enforce all by-laws, rules, regulations and ordinances which it may deem
necessary for the good order and government of the town, the manage-
ment of its property, the conduct of its affairs, the peace, comfort, con-
venience, 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 ptoper to carry into full effect, all powers, authority,
capacity or jurisdiction, which is or shall be granted to or vested in said
town, or in the council, court, or officers thereof, or which may be
necessarily incident to a municipal corporation. ,

(36) 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.

(37) To prescribe any penalty for the violation of any town ordi-
nance, rule, or regulation or of any provision of this charter, not exceed-
ing five hundred dollars or twelve months’ imprisonment in jail, or both.

(38) To make and adopt a comprehensive plan for the town, and
to that end all plats and re-plats hereafter made subdividing any land
within the town or within two miles thereof, into streets, alleys, roads,
and lots or tracts shall be submitted to and approved by the council
before such plats or re-plats are filed for record or recorded in the office
of the clerk of Rockingham County, Virginia.

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

(40) To exercise the power of eminent domain within this State
with respect to lands and improvements thereon, machinery and equip-
ment for any lawful purpose of the said town.

(41) Except when prohibited by general law, the town may levy
a tax or a license on any person, firm or corporation pursuing or conduct-
ing any trade, business, profession, occupation, employment or calling
whatsoever within the boundaries of the town, whether a license may be
required therefor by the State or not, and may exceed the State license,
if any be required, and may provide penalties for any violation thereof.

(42) A lien shall exist on all real estate within the corporate limits
for taxes, levies and assessments in favor of the town, together with all
penalties and interest due thereon, assessed thereon from the commence-
ment of the year for which the same were assessed and the procedure
for collecting the said taxes, for selling real estate for town taxes and
for the redemption of real estate sold for town taxes shall be the same
as provided in the general law of the State to the same extent as if the
provisions of said general law were herein set out at length. The said
town and its treasurer shall have the benefit of all other and additional
remedies for the collection of town taxes which are now or hereafter may
be granted or permitted under the general law.
(43) All goods and chattels wheresoever found may be distrained
and sold for taxes and licenses assessed and due thereon; and no deed
of trust or mortgage upon goods and chattels shall prevent the same from
being distrained and sold for taxes and licenses assessed against the
grantor in such deed while such goods and chattels remain in the
grantor’s possession.

(44) Ordinances making the annual tax levy, appropriation ordi-
nances, ordinances and resolutions pertaining to local improvements and
assessments, ordinances and resolutions providing for or directing any
investigation of town affairs, resolutions requesting information from
administrative bodies, or directing administrative action and emergency
measures shall take effect at the time indicated in such ordinances.
Except as otherwise prescribed in this charter, all ordinances and resolu-
tions passed by the council shall take effect at the time indicated in such
ordinances, but in event no effective date shall be set forth in any such
ordinance, resolution or by-law passed by the council, the same shall
become effective thirty days from the date of its passage.

(45) The town of Grottoes may levy a tax on all subjects of taxa-
tion not prohibited to it by, nor exempted in, the Constitution and
general laws of Virginia.

Section 9. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, or part of this act
shall for any reason be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction
to be invalid, said judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the
remainder of said act, but shall be confined in its operation to the part
of the act directly involved in the controversy in which said judgment
shall have been rendered.

Section 10. This act may be referred to or cited as the Grottoes
Charter of nineteen hundred and forty-eight.

2. All acts or parts of acts in conflict with the provisions of this
charter, in so far as the operation of this charter is affected, and all
former charters and amendments thereto for the Town of Grottoes are
hereby repealed.

3. An emergency existing, this act shall be in force from its passage.