CHAPTER 521

An Act to amend and reenact § 8, as amended, of Chapter 161 of the Acts
of Assembly of 1926, approved March 17, 1926, which was continued
in effect by § 21-120 of the Code of Virginia, relating to sanitary dis-
tricts in certain counties, so as to authorize the acquisition and con-
struction of curbs, gutters, streets and street name signs. (H 677]

Approved March 29, 1958 .

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 3, as amended, of Chapter 161 of the Acts of Assembly of
1926, approved March 17, 1926, be amended and reenacted as follows:

§ 3. After the entry of such order creating a sanitary district of
such county, the board of supervisors or other governing body hereinafter
referred to as “board of supervisors” thereof shall have the following
powers and duties, subject to the conditions and limitations hereinafter
prescribed.

(a) To construct, reconstruct, maintain, alter, improve, add to and
operate motor vehicle parking lots, water supply, drainage, sewerage, gar-
bage disposal, heat, light, power, gas, sidewalk, curbs, gutters, streets and
street name signs and fire fighting systems, for the use and benefit of the
public in such sanitary district and as to such motor vehicle parking lots
systems to make such charges for the use of such facilities as may be pre-
scribed by said board or body.

(a-1) To acquire, maintain and operate, within such sanitary district,
such community buildings and other recreational facilities as the board
may deem expedient or advisable, and to make such charges for the use of
such facilities as may be prescribed by the board. .

(b) To acquire by gift, condemnation, purchase, lease or otherwise,
and to maintain and operate any such motor vehicle parking lots, water
supply, drainage, sewerage, garbage disposal, heat, light and power and
gas, * sidewalk, curbs, gutters, streets and street name signs and fire fight-
ing systems in such district.

(c) To contract with any person, firm, corporation, municipality,
county, authority or the Federal government or any agency thereof to ac-
quire, construct, reconstruct, maintain, alter, improve, add to and operate
any such motor vehicle parking lots, water supply, drainage, sewerage, gar-
bage removal and disposal, heat, light, power, gas, sidewalk, curbs, gutters,
streets and street name signs and fire fighting systems in such district, and
to accept the funds of, or to reimburse from any available source, such
person, firm, corporation, municipality, county, authority or the Fed-
eral government or any agency thereof for either the whole or any part of
the costs, expenses and charges incident to the acquisition, construction,
reconstruction, maintenance, alteration, improvement, addition to and
operation of any such system or systems.

To require owners or tenants of any property in the district to
connect with any such system or systems, and to contract with the owners
or tenants for such connections. In order to require owners or tenants of
any property in the district to connect with any such system or systems,
the board of supervisors shall have power and authority to adopt ordi-
nances so requiring owners or tenants to connect with such systems, and to
use the same, and the board of supervisors shall have power to provide
for a punishment in the ordinance of not exceeding a fifty dollar fine for
each failure and refusal to so connect with such systems, or to use the
same. Before adopting any such ordinance the board of supervisors shall
give public notice of the intention to propose the same for passage by post-
ing hand bill notices of such proposal in three or more public places in
the sanitary district at least ten days prior to the time the ordinance
shall be proposed for passage. The ordinance shall not become effective
after its passage until ten days like notice has been given by posting copies

of such ordinance in three or more public places in the district. Violations
of such ordinances shall be tried before the trial justice court of the
county as is provided for trial of misdemeanors, and with like right of
appeal.

(e) To fix and prescribe the rates of charge for the use of any
such system or systems and to provide for the collection of such charges.
And to enable the board to enforce the collection of charges for the use
of any such system against the person or persons, firm or corporation
using the same, the charges when made for the use of any such system
shall be collectible by distress, levy, garnishment, attachment or other-
wise without recourse to court procedure, except so far as the selected pro-
cedure may require the same. And the board shall have power to designate
as its agent for the purpose of collection such officer or officers, person
or persons as it may determine, and the officer or officers, person or
persons shall be vested with the same power and authority as a sheriff
or constable may have in like procedure.

Any unpaid charge shall become a lien superior to the interest of any
owner, lessee or tenant, and next in succession to county taxes, on the real
property on which the use of any such system was made and for which
the charge was imposed; provided, however, such lien shall not bind or
affect a subsequent bona fide purchaser of such real estate for valuable
consideration without actual notice of such lien, except and until from
the time that the amount of such charge is entered in the Judgment Lien
Docket kept in the office where deeds may be recorded in the political sub-
division wherein the real estate or a part thereof is located. It shall be the
duty of the clerk in whose office deeds may be recorded to keep and
preserve and hold available for public inspection such Judgment Lien
Docket and to cause entries to be made and indexed therein from time to
time upon certification by the board for which he shall be entitled to a
fee of fifty cents per entry to be paid by the board and added to the
amount of the lien.

Such lien on any real estate may be discharged by the payment to
the board of the total amount of such lien, and interest at the rate of six
per centum per annum from the date such charge was due and payable
which may accrue to the date of such payment, and the entry fee of fifty
cents, and it shall be the duty of the board to deliver a certificate thereof
to the person paying the same, and upon presentation thereof and the pay-
ment of the further fee of twenty-five cents by such person, the clerk having
the record of such lien shall mark the entry of such lien satisfied.

Jurisdiction to enforce any such lien shall be in equity, and the court
may decree the real estate subject to the lien, or any part thereof, to be
sold and the proceeds applied to the payment of such lien and the interest
which may accrue to the date of such payment.

Nothing contained herein shall be construed to prejudice the right of
the board to recover the amount of such lien, or of the charge, and the
interest which may accrue, by action at law or otherwise.

In providing for the collection of charges the board may direct that
such charges be included on the annual tax bill for the real property to
which service is rendered, and when so included such charges shall be
subject to the same provisions for collection as apply in the case of the
collection of real property taxes. The board, in its discretion, shall es-
tablish the procedures and methods of assessment of such charges, deter-
mine the amount of such charges and the period or periods for which such
charges shall be applicable, and shall otherwise arrange for the inclusion
of such charges on the annual tax bill.

(f) To employ and fix the compensation of any technical, clerical, or
other force and help which from time to time, in their judgment, may be
deemed necessary for the construction, operation or maintenance of any
such system or systems. .

(g) To negotiate and contract with any person, firm, corporation,
county, authority or municipality with regard to the connection of any
system or systems with any other system or systems now in operation or
hereafter to be established, and with regard to any other matter necessary
and proper for the construction or operation and maintenance of any such
system within the sanitary district. . .

(h) To contract for the extension of any such system into territory
outside of the district, and for the use thereof, upon such terms and con-
ditions as the board may from time to time determine upon. .

(i) With respect to the maintenance and operation of said motor
vehicle parking lots system, the board is authorized to purchase, install,
maintain and operate, and to fix and charge parking meter fees for the use
of, such parking lot or lots.