CHAPTER 554

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 districts,
so as to enlarge certain powers and duties of the board of super-
visors; and so as to provide that certain charges shall be a lien on the
property served; to provide for collection thereof; and to provide for
other matters in relation thereto.

[H 591]

Approved March 31, 1962

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. That § 8, as amended, of Chapter 161 of the Acts of Assembly of
nineteen hundred twenty-six, approved March seventeenth, nineteen hun-
dred twenty-six, which was continued in effect by § 21-120 of the Code
of Virginia, 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,
garbage 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 prescribed by said board or body.

(a-1) To acquire, maintain and operate, within such sanitary district,
such community buildings, public libraries 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, public ubrarves
and fire fighting systems in such district. oo

(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 operate
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, public libraries 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 acqul-
sition, construction, reconstruction, maintenance, alteration, improvement,
addition to and operation of any such system or systems. a

(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 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
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 posting
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
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 otherwise with-
out 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 fol
which the charge was imposed; provided, however, such lien shall not
bind or affect a subsequent bona fide purchaser of such real estate fo1
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 politica!
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 certification by the board for which he shall be entitled ta
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 * fo 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.

(zg) 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
conditions 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.