CHAPTER 571
An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 21-
118.4, relating to creation of sanitary districts, so as to provide for
certain additional powers therefor.

[H 645]

Approved March 31, 1962

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That the Code of Virginia be amended by adding a section numbered
21-118.4, as follows:

§ 21-118.4. Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, when an
order has been entered creating a sanitary district in such county, the
board of supervisors or other governing body, hereinafter referred to as
“board of supervisors”, shall have the following powers and duties, in addi-
tion to such powers and duties created by any law, subject to the condi-
tions 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. o

(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
acquire, construct, reconstruct, maintain, alter, improve, add to and oper-
ate any such motor vehicle parking lots, water supply, drainage, sewerage,
garbage 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 Federal government or any agency thereof for either the whole or any
part of the costs, expenses and charges incident to the acquisition, con-
struction, reconstruction, maintenance, alteration, improvement, addition
to and operation of any such system or systems.

(d) 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 ordinances 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 sys-
tems, 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 posting 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 post-
ing copies of such ordinance in three or more public places in the district.
Violations of such ordinances shall be tried before the county court of the
jet as is provided for trial of misdemeanors, and with like right of
ap .
(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 col-
lectible by distress, levy, garnishment, attachment or otherwise without
recourse to court procedure, except so far as the selected procedure 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 effect
a subsequent bona fide purchaser of such real estate for valuable consid-
eration 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 subdivision
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 certi-
fication 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 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 payment 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.

(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 sys-
tem or systems with any other system or systems now in operation or
hereafter to be established, and with regard to any other matter neces-
sary 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.