Chap. 681.—An ACT to incorporate the town of Wachapreague, in Accamac
county, and to provide for taking the sense of the qualified voters of said town
on the same.

Approved April 2, 1902.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That the settl-
ment of Wachapreague, as the same is now and shall hereafter be laid of
into lots, squares, streets, and: alleys, be, and the same is hereby, made «
town corporate by the name of Wachapreague, and by that name shall
have and exercise all the powers conferred on towns of less than five
thousand inhabitants by the Code of Virginia, and all laws now in force
or which may hereafter be enacted in reference to towns of less than five
thousand inhabitants, so far as the same are not inconsistent with the
provisions of this act.

. The limits of said town shall be as follows: Beginning at the moutli
of a glade dividing the lands of James K. Harmon from the lands 0:
what is known as the Gotligon farm, and where said glade empties into
Wachapreague creek ; thence extending westerly along said glade and 3
ditch to the line between the lands of Bettie Custis and [Edward B.
Finney southwesterly along said line; thence in a generally southwester!t
direction along a road or street dividing the lands of Ran Hickman from
the lands lately owned by Thomas F. Floy d:; thence across the main street
to a line between the lands of George W. Mears and sundry lots situated
on what was known as the Powell land’; thence in a generally southerly
direction along that line to its terminus at Wachapreague creek; thence
northerly and easterly along the low water line of said creek to the point
of beginning.

3. The government of the said town shall be vested in a mayor, re-
corder, five councilmen, and such other officers as may be provided for
by the mayor and council. Arthur T. Mears is hereby appointed mayor
thereof; John T. Mears, recorder, and Carlos V. Willis, Alexander F.
Richardson, Edmond B. Scarbrough, James K. Harmon, and Levin L.
Hopkins are hereby appointed councilmen thereof; and the said mayor,
recorder, and councilmen shall have and exercise all the powers herein-
after granted to said officers, and shall continue in office until the first
Monday in August, ninetcen hundred and two, and thereafter until their
successors shall be elected and qualified according to law. The mayor,
recorder, and councilmen shall compose the town council.

4. The election for mayor, recorder, and councilmen shall be held on
the first Wednesday in July, nineteen hundred and two, and on the same
day in every second year thereafter. Such election shall be held at a
designated place in said town, and conducted under the supervision of
three commissioners appointed by the council for the purpose. Within
two days after any election has been held under this act, the commis-
sioners who conduct the same shall certify the names of the persons
elected to the clerk of the county court of Accomac county, and to the
officers elected, which certificate shall be entered among the records of
said county and corporation.

5. In all elections for the officers of this corporation, all persons who
are, by the laws of this State, entitled to vote for members of the general
assembly, and who shall have resided in said town for three months next
preceding the day of election then to be held, shall be entitled to vote.

6. The persons to be elected under the provisions of this act shall be
inhabitants of said town; and it shall be their duty, on or before the first
day of August next after their election, to take and subscribe the oaths
required by law to be taken by county and district officers before a justice
of the peace or a notary public of Accomac county, and they shall enter
upon the discharge of their duties as such officers on the first Monday of
August next after their election, and hold office for a term of two years,
and until their successors are elected or appointed and qualified. The oaths
taken and subscribed under this section shall be filed with the records of
said town.

7%. When, from any cause, a vacancy may occur in the office of mayor,
recorder, or councilmen, the town council shall, by a vote of a majority
of such as remain, fill such vacancies from the citizens of the town eligible
to the office under this act.

8. The mayor of said town shall take care that the ordinances, reso-
lutions, and by-laws of the town council are faithfully executed. He shall
be, ex-officio, a conservator of the peace within the said town, and shall,
within the same, exercise all the powers and duties vested by law in jus-
tices of the peace. He shall have power to render judgment and issue
executions in all matters wherein he has jurisdiction by reason of the au-
thority vested in him under this act; and in all matters where it may be
necessary to carry into effect the purposes of this act, the said town au-
thorities shall have the right to use the jail of Accomac county for that
purpose.

9. The mayor, recorder, and any two councilmen, or the mayor or re-
corder, and any three councilmen, or in the absence of both mayor and
recorder, any four councilmen shall constitute a quorum to do business.
The mayor shall preside at the mcetings of the council. In his absence
the council shall select one of their number to preside, and the procecd.
ings shall be signed by the person presiding. If at any meeting the re.
corder be absent, the person presiding shall appoint some other person t
discharge the duties of the recorder for that meeting.

10. The town council shall cause to be kept a journal and an accurate
record of all the proceedings, which shall be open to the inspection o!
any person residing in said town. The mayor and recorder shall have
votes as members of said council, and the person presiding at the time o:
any tie vote shall have the casting vote.

The recorder shall attend all meetings of the council, keep a journa
of its proceedings, have charge of and preserve the records of the town
and perform such other duties as the council may prescribe.

11. It shall be the duty of the town council, at their first meeting after
their appointment or election, or as soon thereafter as practicable, to ap
point a sergeant, who shall hold his office during the term of the counci!
which elected him, and until his successor is duly elected and qualified.
and who shall, within the limits of said town, and two miles beyond saic
limits, have the power and be subject to all laws applicable to constables
by the laws of this State and not inconsistent with the provisions oi
this act.

The town council shall require of said sergeant a bond in such penalty,
and with such conditions and such sureties, as it may prescribe, which
bond shall be filed with the records of the said town, and a copy thereof,
certified by the mayor, recorded in the bond books of the county court. of
Accomac county; and said sergeant shall take and subscribe the oaths re-
quired by law of county and district officers, and execute the bond re-
quired by the town council before entering upon the duties of his office.

12. It shall be lawful for said council to make and pass orders, by-laws.
ordinances, and resolutions for the government of said town, the abate-
ment of all nuisances, the preservation of public order, the cleanliness of
the streets and premises, and the protection of its healthfulness, so the
same be not contrary to the laws and constitutions of this State and the
United States; and for the violation of the same shall prescribe reason-
able fines, but in no case to excced fifty dollars.

13. To mect any expenditures that may be necessary and chargeable
to said town for any purpose, the town council may, at such times as it
may seem proper, levy a town levy of so much as, in its opinion, may be
necessary upon all persons and property in said town not exempt from
taxation by the laws of this State: provided, that a capitation tax greater
than one dollar per head on all male inhabitants of said: town over the
age of twenty-one years shall not be levied in any one year: and pro-
vided, further, that the tax levies on all property shall not exceed twenty-
five cents of every hundred dollars of the assessed value of the property
in the town in any one year: provided, however, that said council, by a
two-thirds vote of the entire council, may exempt any real or personal
estate used for taxes for a period of not exceeding five years at a time, if
it shall deem it expedient to do so in order to encourage the establishment
of any enterprise in said town.

14. ‘The town sergeant shall have power to collect the town taxes, fines,
and levies, and one month after the time he shall have received the book
of. the assessor of said town to distrain and scll therefor in like man-
ner as now provided by law for the collection of State taxes, and shall
have the same powers as constables and county ircasurers to enforce the
collections and payment of such taxes, fines, and levies and executions
issued by the mayor in civil causes, and such sergeant may at any time be
removed by said council for any neglect or default in duty, or for failure
to properly account for any money in his hands, as the council may
drrect.

15. There shall be a lien on all real estate for town taxes and levies
assessed thereon from the commencement of the year from which they
are assessed, and the town council may order and require real estate
within said corporate limits delinquent for the non-payment of town
taxes thercon, to be rented or sold by the sergeant at public auction and
in some public place in said town, for the arrears, with interest, with
such a per centum as said council may prescribe for all costs and charges ;
and the surplus, if any, shall be paid to the person entitled thereto; but
before offering such delinquent real estate for sale or rent, the time, terms,
and place of sale, the amount duc thereon, and person in whose name the

same is charged shall be advertised by posting nctices at the front door

of the courthouse of Accomac county, and at three or more public places
in said town, for at least thirty days. Said council shall fix a time within
which such property may be redeemed by any person who has an interest
in such property, or as creditor for such person; and if there be a failure
to redeem within the time prescribed by said council, the recorder of said
town shall make convevanece of the real estate so sold in the manner as
now provided by law for conveyances by clerks of courts of lands sold
for taxes, and such conveyances shall operate to pass whatever title the
party charged had in such property. The lien for town taxes and levies,
and any conveyance under this section, shall be subject to the lien of any
State and county tax, and all prior liens of every kind belonging to any
individual, firm, or corporation, due on the real estate upon said lien is,
or which may have been, so conveved.

16. The said town and taxable persons and property therein shall be
exempt and free from the payment of anv road tax until after said town
shall have failed, at its own expense, to keep its streets in order.

17. The county court of Accomac, or the circuit court of the Eighth
district, shall in no case grant license to any person for the sale of liquors,
wines, beer, or other alcoholic stimulants within the corporate limits of
said town, or within one mile of same, unless such persons shall present a
certificate from said town council certifying that such person is a suituble
person for the business, and that the place where such business is p
posed to be conducted is suitable, convenient, and appropriate.

18. The persons named in the third section of this act shall, imi
diately after their appointment hereunder, take the oath of office
quired by section six of this act; and if any fail to so qualify, those vs
do so qualify shall appoint other inhabitants from said town in th:
room and stead.

19. The town council may levy a tax on, or license to, agents of
surance companies; to theatrical or other performances or shows:
keepers of billiards, or pool tables, or ten-pin a!!cvs; to other persons }
gaging in any other business for which a license may be required by >
laws of the State.

20. At the first regular election to be held in said town, to-wit, on |
first Wednesday in July, nineteen hundred and two, a vote shall be
dered and taken to determine the sense of the qualified voters in s
town as to the final adoption or rejection of the provisions of this a
Said election shall be held in accordance with the requirements of sect:
five of this act, and with the provisions of the general election laws
the State not in conflict with this act, except that the tickets provi-
shall be separate from those provided for the election of officers, a
shall have written or printed thereon, “For incorporation,” “Against.
corporation.” And if it shall appear from the abstract and returns
such election that a majority of the votes so cast are in favor of the inc
poration of said town, then this act shall continue in full force a
effect. But in the event a majority of such votes shall be cast agai
incorporation, then the provisions of this act shall not be in force on a
after the first Monday in August, nineteen hundred and two; and the
corder in such case shall certify the same to the county court of Accom
county, and the force and effect of this act shall thereafter determine a
cease.

21. This act shall be in force from its passage.