Chap. 308.—An ACT to provide a new Charter for the Town of McKenney, in
the County of Dinwiddie, and to repeal all acts or parts of acts in conflict there-

with. ; fS 209]
Approved March 29, 1944

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia, as follows:

1. Section 1. The inhabitants of the Town of McKenney, in Din-
widdie County, as its boundaries are described by section two hereof, or
as its boundaries may be hereafter established, be and continued to be a
body politic and corporate, in part and in name, to be known and desig-
nated as the Town of McKenney, and as such shall have and may exer-
cise all powers which are now, or may hereafter be conferred upon or
delegated to towns under the Constitution and the laws of the Common-
wealth of Virginia, as fully and completely as though said powers were
specifically enumerated herein, and no enumeration of particular powers
by this charter shall be held to be exclusive.

Section 2. The territory contained within the limits of the said
town is described as follows: Beginning at the corner of the First Bap-
tist (Colored) Church property and Jones land, thence along the line
of said Church property, N. 88.30 E. 17.15 chains to a stake east of the
Depot Road, thence S. 30.15 E. 95.10 chains to a stake, thence S. 65.45
W. 13.55 chains to a stake, thence N. 70 W. 65.90 chains to a stake near
and west of R. A. Haskins dwelling thence N. 51.30 W. 37.95 chains to
a point near C. G. Zehmer’s dwelling, thence N. 43 E. 56.20 chains to the
point of beginning and shown on plat of survey made by W. C. Rives
& Bro., Surveyors, of record in the clerk’s office of the Circuit Court of
Dinwiddie County, Virginia.

Section 3. Creation of Council.—There is hereby created a council
which shall have full power and authority, except as herein otherwise
stated, to exercise all the powers conferred upon the town, and to pass
all laws and ordinances relating to its municipal affairs, subject to the
Constitution and general laws of the State and of this charter.

Section 4. Composition of council and vacancies.—The council shall
consist of a mayor and five other electors of the town, who shall be de-
nominated the council of said town. The mayor and councilmen shall be
elected for a term of two years at a general election held for that purpose
on the second Tuesday of June, nineteen hundred and forty-four, and
the second Tuesday in June every two years thereafter as provided by
law, and the persons so elected shall enter upon the duties of their office
onthe first day of September next succeeding their election, and shall
continue in office until their successors are qualified.

Every person elected a councilman of the town, shall, on or before
the day on which he enters upon the performance of his duties, qualify
by taking and subscribing an oath faithfully to execute the duties of his
office to the best of his judgment ; and the person elected mayor shall take
and subscribe the oath prescribed by law for State officers.

Any such oath of councilmen and mayor may be taken before any
officer authorized by law to administer oaths, and shall, when so taken
and subscribed, be forthwith returned to the recorder of the town, who
shall enter the same on record on the minute book of the council.

The councilmen shall judge of the election, qualification and returns
of its members; may fine them for disorderly behavior, and, with the con-
currence of two-thirds of its membership expel a member. If any person
returned be adjudged disqualified, or be expelled, a new election to fill
the vacancy shall be held in the town on such date as the council may
prescribe, except that where there shall be vacancies in the majority
of the council, the circuit court of Dinwiddie County, or the judge thereof
in vacation, shall fill such vacancies. Any vacancy occurring otherwise
during the term for which any of the said persons have been elected may
be filled by the council by the appointment of anyone eligible for such
office. A vacancy in the office of the mayor may be filled by the council
from the electors of said town.

Section 5. Qualification of mayor and councilmen.—Any person,
qualified to vote in the town in the election in which he offers shall be
eligible to the office of mayor or councilman.

Section 6. Disqualification of mayor and councilmen.—Any mem-
ber of the council who shall have been convicted of a felony while in
office shall forfeit his office.

Section 7. Organization and meetings of council.—At eight o’clock
post meridian on the first day in September following a regular municipal
election, or if such day be a Sunday or a legal holiday, then on the day
following, the council shall meet at the usual place for holding its meet-
ings, at which time the newly elected mayor and councilmen, after first
having taken the oaths prescribed by law, shall assume the duties of their
offices. Thereafter the council shall meet at such times as may be pre-
scribed by ordinance or resolution. The mayor or any three members of
the council may call specific meetings of the council at any time after giv-
ing at least twelve hours written notice to the other members of the pur-
pose, place, and time of such special meeting. Special meetings may also
be held at any time without notice, provided all members of the council
attend.

A majority of all members shall constitute a quorum, but a smaller
number may adjourn from time to time, and compel the attendance of
absentees.
The council shall fix the compensation of its members and of all othe:
officers and/or agents and emplovees of the town.

Section 8. Powers of mayor.—The mayor shall be the chief execu.
tive officer of the town. He shall control the police of the town, and may
appoint special police officers when he deems it necessary.

All by-laws and ordinances, before they become valid and operative.
shall have his signature, but the mayor shall vote only in cases where the
vote isa tie.

In the absence or disability of the mayor, his duties shall be per-
formed by such member of the council as may be designated and ap-
pointed by the council.

In addition to the powers and duties herein specifically enumerated.
the mayor shall be vested with all such other powers and charged with
all such other duties, not in conflict herewith, as are provided by the
Constitution and general laws of the State.

Section 9. The town sergeant—There shall be a sergeant for said
town who shall be elected by the council, who shall serve at the will and
pleasure of the council. The sergeant shall be the chief police officer ot
the town and shall perform such duties and be invested with such av-
thority as is provided by the general law for sergeants of towns, and
shall perform such other duties and be invested with such other authority
as the council may prescribe.

Section 10. Other officers——The council may create, appoint, or
elect such other officers, assessors, attorneys, or agents, departments.
bodies or boards for the town as may be deemed necessary or proper.
and may fix their compensation and define their duties, and require such
bond as may seem necessary.

Section 11. Powers of the town.—In addition to the powers men-
tioned in section one hereof, the said town of McKenney shall have the
following powers:

First: To raise annually by taxes and assessments in said town such
sums of money as the council thereof shall deem necessary for the pur-
poses of said town, and in such manner as said council shall deem ex-
pedient, in accordance with the Constitution of this State and the United
States, and of the general laws of the State in pursuance thereof.

Second: To impose special or local assessments for local i
ments and enforce payment thereof, subject however, to such limitations
prescribed by the Constitution of Virginia as may be in force at the time
of the imposition of such special or local assessments.

Third: To contract debts, borrow money, and make and issue evi-
dence of indebtedness.

Fourth: To expend the money of the town for all lawful purposes.

Fifth: To acquire by purchase, gift, devise, condemnation or other-
wise, property, real or personal, or any estate or interest therein, within
or without said town for any of the purposes of the town; and to hold,
improve, sell, lease, or dispose of the same or any part thereof, including
any property now owned by the town.

Sixth: To own, operate, and maintain water works and to acquire
within or without said town such water lines, property rights, and ripar-
ian rights as the council of said town may deem necessary for the pur-
pose of providing an adequate water supply for said town, and of piping
or conducting the same into the town; to lay all necessary mains and serv-
ice lines, either within or without the corporate limits of said town with
which to distribute said water, and to charge and collect water rents
therefor; to erect and maintain all necessary dams, pumping stations,
filter plants, or 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 to do all things neces-
sary in order to provide an adequate public water system for the town.

Seventh: To establish, construct, and maintain sanitary sewers, sewer
lines, sewerage disposal plants and systems, and to require the owners
or occupiers of real estate within the corporate limits of the town, which
may front or abut on the line of any such sewer system to make connec-
tion therewith, and to use such sewer facilities as may be furnished by
the town, under such ordinances and regulations as the council may deem
necessary or proper for the proper disposal of sewerage and to improve
and secure sanitary conditions; to charge, assess and collect reasonable
fees, rentals, or assesments or costs of service for connecting with and
using such sewers, and to make regulations for the use, enjoyment, pro-
tection, and care of such sewers and sewer systems; and the power to
enforce the observance of all such ordinances and regulations by the
imposition and collection of fines and penalties for non-compliance there-
of, as other fines and penalties for violation of the ordinances of the town
are collected.

Eighth: In every case where a street, alley, park or public property
of the town has been, or shall be, occupied or encroached upon a fence,
building, porch, projection, or otherwise, without first having obtained
consent thereto from the town council or a franchise thereof, such
occupancy or encroachment shall be deemed a nuisance, and the owner
or occupant of the premises encroaching, upon conviction of so doing,
shall be fined not less than five ($5.00) nor more than fifty ($50.00)
dollars, and each day’s continuance of the said occupancy or encroach-
ment shall constitute a separate offense, such fine to be recovered in the
name of the town and for its use, and the town council may require the
owner of the premises encroaching, if known, or if not known, the occu-
pant thereof, to remove the encroachment within a reasonable time, and
if such removal be not made within the time prescribed by the council, to
cause the encroachment to be removed, and collect from the owner, or if
the owner be not known, the occupant, all reasonable charges therefor
with costs, by the same process that they are authorized by law to collect
taxes.

No encroachment upon any street or alley, however long continued,
shall constitute any adverse possession to, or confer any rights upon the
person claiming thereunder, as against the town.

Ninth: To issue bonds in such manner and for such purposes as
are provided in chapter one hundred and twenty-two of the Code of Vir-
ginia.
Tenth: To inspect, test, measure, and weigh any commodity or com-
modities or articles of consumption for use within the town: and to es-
tablish, regulate, license, and inspect weights, meters, measures and
scales. .

Eleventh: To license and regulate the ho'ding 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. }

Twelfth: 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.

Thirteenth: To construct, maintain, regulate and operate public
improvements of all kinds, including municipal and other buildings.
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, and aid therein
roads and bridges to any property owned by the said town and situated
beyond the corporate limits thereof, and to acquire land necessary for
the aforesaid purposes, by condemnation or otherwise.

Fourteenth: 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. :

Fifteenth: To compel the abatement and removal of all nutsances
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 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, or other premises within the town, to be kept
clean and sanitary and free from stagnant water, weeds, filth and un-
sightly deposits, or to make them so at the expense of the owners or
occupants thereof, and to collect said 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 town, keeping of hogs
or other animals, poultry or other fowls 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 un-
necessary noise; to regulate the location of stables and the manner in
which they shall be kept and constructed; to regulate the location, con-
struction, operation, and maintenance of billboards, signs, advertising,
and generally to define, prohibit, abate, suppress, and prevent all things
letrimental 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 de-
posits, ice and snow.

Sixteenth: 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 setback lines on the streets beyond which no building may
be constructed, to require the standard of all dwelling houses to be
miaintained in residential sections in keeping with the majority of resi-
dences therein, and to require the standard of all business houses to be
maintained in business sections in keeping with the majority of the
business houses therein.

Seventeenth: 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.

Eighteenth: 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
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.

Nineteenth: To offer and pay rewards for the apprehension and
conviction of criminals.

Twentieth: To enjoin and restrain the violation of any town or-
dinance or ordinances, although a penalty is provided upon conviction
of such violation.

Twenty-first: In so far as not prohibited by general law, 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
management of its property, the conduct of its affairs, the peace, comfort,
convenience, order, morals, health and protection of its citizens of 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 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 neces-
sarily incident to a municipal corporation.

Twenty-second: To do all things whatsoever necessary or expedient
and lawful to be done for promoting or maintaining the general wel-
fare, comfort, education, morals, peace, government, health, trade, com-
merce, or industries of the town, or its inhabitants.

Twenty-third: To prescribe any penalty for the violation of any
town ordinance, rule, or regulation or of any provision of this charter,
not exceeding five hundred dollars fine or twelve months’ imprisonment
in jail or both.

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

Twenty-fifth: To exercise the power of eminent domain within this
State with respect to lands and machinery, equipment or improvements
thereon, for any lawful purposes of the said town.

Twenty-sixth: Except when prohibited by general law, the town
may levy a tax or a license on any person, firm or corporation pursuing
or conducting 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 provide
penalties for any violation thereof.

Twenty-seventh: 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 commencement 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 for the State, to the
same extent as if the provisions of said general law were herein set
out at length. The said town 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.

Twenty-eighth: To extinguish and prevent fires, and to establish,
regulate and control a fire department or division, to regulate the size,
heighth, materials, and construction of buildings, fences, walls, retaining
walls, and other structures hereafter erected in such a manner as the
public safety and convenience may require; to remove and require to
be removed or reconstructed any building, structure, or addition thereto,
which by reason of dilapidation, defect of structure, or other cause
may be dangerous to life or property, or which may be erected con-
trary to law; to establish and designate from time to time fire limits,
within which limits wooden buildings shall not be constructed, added
to, enlarged, or repaired and to direct that any or all buildings within
such limits shall be constructed of stone, natural or artificial, concrete,
brick, iron, or other fireproof material; to construct dams across any
of the streams within said town for the purpose of providing an adequate
supply of water with which to combat fires, and to prohibit the release
of the water contained in such dams within said town as may be now
owned or hereafter constructed by others, in times of drought. in order
to provide an adequate supply of water with which to combat fires; and
to enact such laws as may be necessary to provide for the protection
of the citizens and property of the town from fire, or for securing the
safety of persons from fires in halls and buildings used for public
assemblies.

Twenty-ninth: To regulate the keeping of gunpowder, nitro-
glycerin, or other explosive or combustible substance; and to regulate or
‘prohibit the exhibition or possession of fireworks, the discharge of fire
arms, and the making of bonfires within the said town.

Thirtieth: To prohibit from and punish minors for frequenting,

playing in, and loitering in any public pool room, billard parlor, or bowl-
ing alley, and to punish any proprietor or agent thereof for permitting
same.
Thirty-first: Except when prohibited by general law, to prohibit
any person, firm or corporation from pursuing or conducting any trade,
business, profession, occupation, employment, or calling within the
boundaries of the town on the Sabbath.

Thirty-second: Except when prohibited by general law the said
town shall have the power to regulate the speed and manner in which
all vehicles, motor driven or otherwise, shall operate in the said town.

Section 12. The present mayor and council, and other officers of
the Town of McKenney shall continue in office until the expiration of
the term for which they were respectively elected.

Section 13. 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 clause,
sentence, paragraph, or part thereof directly involved in the controversy
in which said judgment shall have been rendered.

Section 14. All contracts and obligations heretofore or hereafter
made by the Town of McKenney, not inconsistent with this charter or the
Constitution or the general laws of this State, shall be, and are hereby
declared to be valid and legal; and all ordinances, rules or regulations
now in force in said town, not inconsistent with this charter, the Con-
stitution or the general laws of this State shall be and remain in force
until altered, amended, or repealed by the council of the town.

2. All acts or parts of acts in conflict with this charter are hereby
repealed in so far as they affect the provisions of this act, and all former
acts chartering or amending the charter of the Town of McKenney are
hereby repealed.

3. An emergency exists and this act is in force from its passage.
458 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY [va., 1944