NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1967 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 1037

HOUSE BILL 1322

 

 

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR ELECTIONS IN THE TOWNS OF JONES­VILLE AND ARLINGTON ON THE CONSOLIDATION OF SAID TOWNS, AND SUBJECT TO SUCH ELECTIONS TO PROVIDE A CHARTER FOR THE TOWN OF JONESVILLE.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

 

Section 1. The governing bodies of the Towns of Jonesville and Arling­ton in Yadkin County are hereby authorized and directed to submit to the voters of each town at special elections to be held in each town on September 12, 1967, the question of consolidation of said towns into one city.

Each of said governing bodies shall give 30 days' notice of such special elections. Such notice shall be by publication in a newspaper or newspapers having general circulation in said towns and by posting thereof in three public places in each town.

No new registration will be required for the special elections. The existing registration for the existing Towns of Jonesville and Arlington shall be in effect, and voting shall be conducted at the existing polling places. The registration books shall be open for the registration of voters at 9:00 a.m. on the fourth Saturday before the special election and shall be closed at sunset on the second Saturday before the special election.

At such special elections, each voter shall be provided with a ballot on which shall be plainly printed the words "FOR CONSOLIDATION" and the words "AGAINST CONSOLIDATION", with appropriate squares so that each voter may by his cross (X) mark indicate his preference. A vote FOR CONSOLIDATION shall be and constitute a vote for the Town of Jonesville to assume the obligations, including outstanding indebtedness, of the Town of Jonesville and of the Town of Arlington.

Sec. 2. If the majority of the votes cast in either town voting separately shall be cast AGAINST CONSOLIDATION, then this Act shall have no force and effect.

Sec. 3. (a) If the majority of the votes cast in each town voting separately shall be cast FOR CONSOLIDATION, then the Charter of the Town of Jonesville as set forth in Section 4 of this Act, shall become effective at 12:00 o'clock noon, on the 20th day of September, 1967, and on said date and at said time the original Charters of the Towns of Jonesville and Arlington, together with all amendments thereto, shall be repealed and the Town of Jonesville shall succeed to the rights, duties, powers and obligations of the Towns of Jonesville and Arlington.

(b)       In the event the results of the special elections hereinbefore provided for are FOR CONSOLIDATION, then the following provisions shall apply:

(1)       The governing body of the new municipality, until the initial election hereinafter provided for, shall consist of the mayors and members of the governing bodies of the municipalities formerly existing within the corporate limits. The mayor of the governing body of the new municipality, until the initial election hereinafter provided for, shall be D. Phillip Wilkins, and the councilmen shall be as follows: Thomas L. Osborne, P. J. Barr, J. Marshall Adams, Leon H. Martin, Aubrey R. Martin, Sr., Wayne V. Moore, Harold C. Simmons, Enoch E. Templeton, Alvin C. Patterson, Sherman F. Morrison, and Albert M. Tilley; Albert M. Tilley shall serve as councilman and mayor pro tempore. The above-named mayor and councilmen shall serve from September 20, 1967, until noon of the  first Wednesday in May, 1969, the date for swearing in the mayor and councilmen elected at the initial election hereinafter provided for. Each such member of the governing body of the new municipality until the initial election hereinafter provided for shall have one vote as a member of the governing body. The salary of the mayor and councilmen from September 20, 1967, until the first Wednesday in May, 1969, shall be as follows: Three hundred dollars ($300.00) per annum for the mayor; one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) per annum for each councilman, except the salary for the councilman acting as mayor pro tempore shall be two hundred forty dollars ($240.00) per annum; the salary of the mayor from the first Wednesday of May, 1969, shall be six hundred dollars ($600.00) per annum and shall remain such until changed as hereinafter provided by the Charter for the Town of Jonesville which shall come in effect at that time, or as by law provided. The salary for the councilmen shall be three hundred dollars ($300.00) each per annum effective the first Wednesday of May, 1969, and shall remain such until changed as hereinafter provided by the Charter of the Town of Jonesville effective that date or as by law provided.

(2)       At its first meeting, the governing body of the Town of Jonesville shall adopt the ordinances of the Towns of Jonesville and Arlington as the ordinances for the government of the Town of Jonesville.

Any zoning ordinances of Jonesville or Arlington shall remain in full force and effect in the territory to which it applies on September 19, 1967, until changed, amended, supplemented or repealed by the governing body of the Town of Jonesville.

(c)       In the event the results of the special elections hereinbefore provided for are FOR CONSOLIDATION, then the following provisions shall apply:

(1)       All property, real and personal and mixed, including accounts receivable, belonging to the Town of Jonesville and the Town of Arlington shall vest in, belong to, and be the property of, the Town of Jonesville. The governing bodies of the Town of Jonesville and the Town of Arlington are hereby authorized and directed to take such actions and to execute such documents, including warranty deeds, as will carry into effect the provisions and the intent of this subsection;

(2)       All judgments, liens, rights of liens, and causes of action of any nature in favor of the Town of Jonesville or of the Town of Arlington shall remain and inure to the benefit of the Town of Jonesville;

(3)       All taxes, assessments, water or sewer charges, and other charges or fees, owing to the Town of Jonesville or to the Town of Arlington shall be owed to and collected by the Town of Jonesville;

(4)       All actions, suits, and proceedings pending against, or having been instituted by, the Town of Jonesville or the Town of Arlington shall not be abated by this Act or by the consolidation herein provided for, but all such actions, suits, and proceedings shall be continued and completed in the same manner as if consolidation had not occurred, and the Town of Jonesville shall be a party to all such actions, suits, and proceedings in the place and stead of the Town of Jonesville or the Town of Arlington, and shall pay or cause to be paid any judgments rendered against the Town of Jonesville or the Town of Arlington in any such actions, suits, or proceedings. No new process need be served in any such action, suit, or proceeding.

(5)       All obligations of the Town of Jonesville and of the Town of Arlington, including outstanding indebtedness, shall be assumed by the Town of Jonesville, and all such obligations and outstanding indebtedness are hereby constituted obligations and indebtedness of the Town of Jonesville, and the full faith and credit of the Town of Jonesville shall be deemed to be pledged for the punctual payment of the principal and interest on all general obligation bonds and bond anticipation notes of the Town of Jonesville and the Town of Arlington. All of the taxable property located within the former corporate limits of the former Town of Jonesville shall be and remain subject to taxation for the punctual payment of the principal and interest on all general obligation bonds and bond anticipation notes of the Town of Jonesville. All of the taxable property located within the former corporate limits of the former Town of Arlington shall be and remain subject to taxation for the punctual payment of the principal and interest on all general obligation bonds and bond anticipation notes of the Town of Arlington. All of the taxable property within the corporate limits of the Town of Jonesville shall be and remain subject to taxation for the punctual payment of the principal and interest on all general obligation bonds and bond anticipation notes of the Town of Jonesville and of the Town of Arlington.

(6)       All franchises heretofore granted by the Town of Jonesville or by the Town of Arlington, respectively, and which are still in force, shall continue as valid franchises of the Town of Jonesville for the purposes granted within the area formerly comprising the corporate limits of the Town of Jonesville or the Town of Arlington, as the case may be, but shall not hereby be constituted valid franchises for any other portion of the corporate limits of the Town of Jonesville.

Sec. 4. The following shall be the Charter of the Town of Jonesville:

CHARTER OF THE TOWN OF JONESVILLE

ARTICLE 1. GENERAL

Sec. 1.1. Incorporation. The inhabitants of the Town of Jonesville, within the boundaries established in this Charter or as hereafter lawfully established, shall be municipal body politic and corporate in perpetuity, under the name "Town of Jonesville".

Sec. 1.2. Corporate Limits. The boundaries of the town shall be as follows until lawfully changed: BEGINNING at the conflux of Sandy Berry Creek and Jonesville Creek South of N. C. Highway No. 67, up and with the base line running on the West side of Sandy Berry Creek the following bearings and distances: South 40 degrees 01 minute East 396.17 feet to a granite monument; South 28 degrees 36 minutes East 259.87 feet to an iron stake; South 29 degrees 58 minutes East 344.22 feet to an iron stake; South 28 degrees 04 minutes East 900.95 feet to an iron stake; South 01 degree 32 minutes West 83.88 feet to an iron stake; South 22 degrees 11 minutes East 643.60 feet to an iron stake; South 11 degrees 39 minutes East 446.25 feet to an iron stake; South 07 degrees 37 minutes East 392.28 feet to an iron stake; South 20 degrees 00 minutes East 439.49 feet to an iron stake; South 15 degrees 32 minutes East 188.64 feet to an iron stake; South 08 degrees 17 minutes East 134.38 feet to an iron stake; South 09 degrees 29 minutes West 225.50 feet to an iron stake; South 37 degrees 57 minutes West 285.60 feet to an iron stake; South 52 degrees 36 minutes West 190.27 feet to an iron stake; South 71 degrees 52 minutes West 184.92 feet to an iron stake; South 40 degrees 34 minutes West 209.80 feet to an iron stake; South 10 degrees 08 minutes West 137.73 feet to an iron stake; South 06 degrees 11 minutes East 128.36 feet to an iron stake; South 22 degrees 24 minutes West 187.00 feet to an iron stake; South 31 degrees 25 minutes West 229.50 feet to an iron stake; South 45 degrees 34 minutes West 186.40 feet to an iron stake; South 00 degrees 57 minutes West 262.53 feet to an iron stake; South 15 degrees 19 minutes East 93.75 feet to an iron stake; South 05 degrees 28 minutes West 176.48 feet to an iron stake; South 03 degrees 41 minutes East 312.88 feet to an iron stake; South 27 degrees 50 minutes East 112.73 feet to an iron stake; South 30 degrees 46 minutes East 214.97 feet to an iron stake; South 00 degrees 38 minutes West 168.50 feet to a granite monument on top of the dam; South 07 degrees 04 minutes East 233.02 feet to a granite monument set under high tension power line; South 21 degrees 18 minutes East 535.30 feet to a p.k. nail in the center of the West end of the bridge on Center Road; thence a base line running the following bearings and distances with Center Road; North 57 degrees 45 minutes West 559.70 feet to a p.k. nail; North 32 degrees 59 minutes West 336.87 feet to a p.k. nail; North 70 degrees 54 minutes West 166.61 feet to a p.k. nail; South 65 degrees 01 minute West 256.90 feet to a p.k. nail; North 85 degrees 15 minutes West 249.78 feet to a p.k. nail; South 74 degrees 52 minutes West 392.68 feet to a p.k. nail set in the West edge of U. S. 21; North 89 degrees 30 minutes West 159.94 feet to an iron stake on the East side of the branch; thence running with the center of the branch the following bearings and distances: North 47 degrees 40 minutes West 151.64 feet to an iron stake; North 70 degrees 56 minutes West 160.40 feet to an iron stake; North 45 degrees 12 minutes West 221.65 feet to an iron stake; South 83 degrees 30 minutes West 267.32 feet to an iron stake; North 75 degrees 12 minutes West 330.55 feet to an iron stake; North 59 degrees 20 minutes West 188.28 feet to an iron stake; North 32 degrees 43 minutes West 112.32 feet to an iron stake; thence North 54 degrees 18 minutes West 301.13 feet to a bronze capped iron stake on the East side of Beaver Creek; North 50 degrees 00 minutes West 192.50 feet to an iron stake; North 39 degrees 00 minutes West 152.08 feet to an iron stake; North 44 degrees 43 minutes West 173.15 feet to an iron stake; North 14 degrees 03 minutes West 296.05 feet to an iron stake; North 44 degrees 45 minutes West 182.47 feet to an iron stake; North 14 degrees 21 minutes East 130.40 feet to an iron stake; North 39 degrees 36 minutes East 143.38 feet to an iron stake; North 17 degrees 34 minutes West 132.29 feet to an iron stake; North 21 degrees 40 minutes West 271.60 feet to a bronze capped iron stake; North 13 degrees 53 minutes West 548.32 feet to a bronze capped iron stake; North 07 degrees 34 minutes West 240.72 feet to a granite monument; North 11 degrees 48 minutes West 449.13 feet to a granite monument; North 21 degrees 55 minutes East 437.62 feet to an iron stake; North 03 degrees 57 minutes West 389.88 feet to a point on the bridge crossing Beaver Creek; thence with Beaver Street the following courses and distances: South 82 degrees 23 minutes West 127.36 feet; South 70 degrees 45 minutes West 165.60 feet; South 45 degrees 08 minutes West 188.12 feet; South 57 degrees 58 minutes West 334.98 feet; North 39 degrees 51 minutes West 443.70 feet; South 86 degrees 39 minutes West 631.10 feet to the center of Swaim Street Extension; thence South 47 degrees 44 minutes West 95.46 feet; thence South 67 degrees 48 minutes West 164.69 feet to the intersection of Swaim Street Extension and Wagoner Street, the southeast corner of Lake View Development; thence with said development South 88 degrees 30 minutes West 716.20 feet to an iron pipe; thence North 26 degrees 03 minutes West 494.35 feet; thence North 15 degrees 15 minutes East 488 feet to an iron pin in the center of Cobb Creek; thence generally westwardly up the center of said Cobb Creek approximately 450 feet to the present southwest corner of the Jonesville corporate limits where a tributary enters said Cobb Creek; thence northwestwardly with the thread of said tributary approximately 940 feet to a point, said point being 473.44 feet due East of the Cedarbrook Road; thence in a straight line with the existing corporate limits due West 473.44 feet to the center of Cedarbrook Road; thence North 64 degrees 45 minutes West 133.78 feet; thence North 19 degrees 38 minutes West 974.55 feet; thence North 1 degree 24 minutes East 585.80 feet to Osborne Creek; thence with Osborne Creek the following courses and distances: North 33 degrees 46 minutes West 53.22 feet; North 43 degrees 24 minutes West 238.55 feet; North 31 degrees 06 minutes West 178.21 feet; North 19 degrees 14 minutes West 74.13 feet; North 25 degrees 52 minutes West 274.79 feet to the conflux of Osborne Creek and Boles Creek; thence with Boles Creek the following courses and distances: North 65 degrees 09 minutes East 157.76 feet; South 75 degrees 30 minutes East 290.85 feet; North 67 degrees 37 minutes East 201.95 feet; South 86 degrees 48 minutes East 113.81 feet; South 86 degrees 50 minutes East 100.18 feet; North 71 degrees 51 minutes East 104.23 feet; South 85 degrees 14 minutes East 314.10 feet; thence leaving said creek and running North 23 degrees 26 minutes East 836.81 feet to Shaw Street; thence North 12 degrees 35 minutes West 969.00 feet to an iron pipe; thence North 35 degrees 20 minutes East 1036 feet to the center of the Yadkin River; thence with the meanders of the center of the Yadkin River in a general eastwardly direction approximately 3,675 feet to a point in the center of said river directly North of an iron situated on the South bank of the Yadkin River; thence South 11 degrees 49 minutes East 500 feet; thence North 70 degrees 05 minutes East 1308.83 feet; thence North 87 degrees 56 minutes East 750 feet to the center of Jonesville Creek; thence with the center of said creek in a southeastwardly direction approximately 875 feet crossing N. C. Highway No. 67 to the conflux of Jonesville Creek and Sandy Berry Creek, the point of BEGINNING. The above description is taken from a map of the Town of Jonesville prepared by Moore, Gardner and Associates, Inc., Consulting Engineers of Asheboro, North Carolina, prepared in January of 1960, and from a map of the Town of Arlington prepared by Richard C. Current, Registered Land Surveyor, on March 1, 1965.

Sec. 1.3. Governing Body. The qualified voters of the town shall elect, in the manner prescribed in Article II of this Charter, a mayor and a town council of five members. The mayor and council shall constitute the governing body which shall have power to provide for the government of the town by such ordinances, bylaws, rules and regulations as may be deemed necessary, not inconsistent with the Constitution of North Carolina.

Sec. 1.4. Powers. The town shall have and may exercise all powers now and hereafter granted to municipal corporations in general and to the Town of Jonesville in particular by the Constitution and laws, both general and special or local, of North Carolina. The following enumeration of powers shall not limit the foregoing sentence but shall constitute a part of the powers conferred:

(a)       To levy and collect all taxes authorized by law to borrow money within the limitations of the Constitution and general law of the State; and to levy and collect special assessments for benefits conferred pursuant to general law.

(b)       To furnish all local public services; to purchase, hire, construct, own and operate local public utilities within and without the corporate limits; and to grant local public utility franchises and regulate the exercise thereof.

(c)       To organize and administer public libraries and recreational facilities, subject to the Constitution and laws of the State.

(d)       To adopt and enforce local police, sanitary, fire, building, traffic and other like regulations not inconsistent with the Constitution and laws of the State.

ARTICLE II. ELECTIONS

Sec. 2.1. Regular Elections. There shall be a municipal election in the Town of Jonesville on the first Tuesday in May, 1969, and biennially thereafter. In each election, there shall be elected a mayor and council consisting of five members.

Sec. 2.2. Town Meeting; Notice. Not less than four nor more than six weeks preceding the date of each biennial municipal election there shall be held a town meeting at such date, time and place as the town governing body may designate. Notice of such meeting shall be published in a newspaper, which is published and circulated in the Town of Jonesville, once a week for four successive weeks preceding the week during which the town meeting shall be held. The period of time between the publication of the first notice and the publication of the fourth notice shall be at least 20 days excluding the days of the first and last publication.

Sec. 2.3. Nominations. At such town meeting all qualified voters of the Town of Jonesville shall be eligible to attend and participate in the town meeting at which the mayor shall preside until a chairman of the meeting is elected by the qualified voters present, then said chairman shall preside At such meeting there shall be nominated one candidate for mayor, preside and there shall be nominated five candidates for the town council.

Sec. 2.4. The five councilmen and mayor shall be elected at large.

Sec. 2.5. Additional Candidates. Any qualified voter of the Town of Jonesville who is not nominated at the afore-described town meeting for mayor or town council may file notice of candidacy for office as mayor or town council by personally filing written notice with the town clerk not later than the fifteenth day preceding the date of the biennial municipal election. No filing fee shall be charged any candidate filing for mayor or town council.

Sec. 2.6. Ballots; Election of Mayor. The name of the person nominated for mayor at the town meeting and all persons filing notices of candidacy for mayor with the town clerk shall be placed on the ballot to be used in the biennial municipal election and the person receiving the highest number of votes for mayor shall be declared elected mayor.

Sec. 2.7. Ballots; Election of Councilmen. All of the candidates for the town council nominated at the town meeting and all persons who file notice of candidacy for the offices of the town councilmen shall be placed on the ballot to be used in the biennial municipal election. The five persons who receive the highest numbers of votes for town councilman shall be declared elected.

ARTICLE III. THE MAYOR

Sec. 3.1. Election, Term, Vacancy. The mayor shall be a resident of the town and shall be elected by the qualified voters of the town at large. No candidate for the office of mayor shall be a candidate for membership on the town council. The mayor shall be elected for a term of two years which shall begin at 12:00 o'clock noon, on the day following his election when he shall take the oath of office, and until his successor is duly elected .and qualified. In case of a vacancy in the office of mayor, the members of the council shall choose his successor for the unexpired term.

Sec. 3.2. Powers and Duties. The mayor shall be the recognized head of the town government for all ceremonial purposes; by the courts for the serving of legal process; and by the Governor for purposes of martial law.

The mayor shall preside at meetings of the town council, and shall not vote on any question before the council except in case of a tie vote deadlocking a decision by the council, in which case the mayor shall cast the tie-breaking vote.

As the acknowledged leader of the corporate community and as presiding officer of the council, the mayor shall exercise the leadership inherent in his office in the formulation of policies and the initiation of programs for the benefit of the people, and shall have no regular administrative duties.

Sec. 3.3. Mayor Pro Tempore. In the event of absence or disability of the mayor, the member of the council appointed mayor pro tempore shall act as mayor during such absence or disability and shall have the same authority, exercise all powers, and perform such duties as are authorized or prescribed for the mayor.

ARTICLE IV. THE COUNCIL

Sec. 4.1. Election, Term, Vacancy. The town council shall consist of five members to be elected as hereinabove provided. The members of the council shall be elected for terms of two years, which shall begin at 12:00 o'clock noon on the day following their election when they shall take the oath of office, and until their successors are duly elected and qualified. Any seat on the town council which becomes vacant shall be filled by appointment of a qualified voter by a majority vote of the remaining members of the council.

Sec. 4.2. Powers and duties. All the legislative powers of the town shall be exercised by the council. Every member of the council shall have the right to vote on any question coming before it. A majority shall constitute a quorum, and a majority vote of all members present shall be necessary to adopt any motion, resolution or ordinance.

The council shall from time to time establish rules for its proceedings. Regular and special meetings shall be held at a time and place fixed by ordinance. All legislative sessions shall be open to the public, and every matter put to a vote shall be duly recorded. A full and accurate journal of the proceedings shall be kept, and shall be open to the inspection of any qualified voter of the town. At its first meeting following an election, the council shall appoint one member to serve as mayor pro tempore.

The council may appoint a town manager to serve at the will of the council, and his duties shall be as prescribed in this Charter. The council shall also appoint a town clerk and a town attorney to serve at the will of the council, and whose duties may be prescribed by ordinance. If no town manager is appointed, then the town clerk shall be responsible for the powers and perform his duties as herein set forth in Article V.

The compensation of the mayor, manager, clerk, and attorney may be fixed by the council at any time. The compensation of the councilmen may be fixed by the council by an ordinance to become effective in the next succeeding term of office.

The council shall have authority to determine policies, enact ordinances and resolutions, establish programs for the benefit of the people, and shall have no regular administrative duties.

ARTICLE V. TOWN MANAGER

Sec. 5.1. Appointment. The town manager shall be appointed by the council solely on the basis of his executive and administrative qualifications with special reference to his actual experience in or his knowledge of accepted practice in respect to the duties of his office. At the time of his appointment he need not be a resident of the town, but during his tenure of office he shall reside within the town.

Sec. 5.2. Powers and Duties. The town manager shall be the head of the administrative branch of the town government. He shall be responsible to the town council for the proper administration of all affairs of the town, and to that end, he shall:

(a)       See that within the town the laws of the State and the ordinances, resolutions, and regulations of the council are faithfully executed;

(b)       Attend all meetings of the council and recommend for adoption such measures as he shall deem expedient;

(c)       Make reports to the council from time to time upon the affairs of the town;

(d)       Prepare the budget annually and submit it to the council and be responsible for its administration after adoption;

(e)       Appoint and remove such town officers and employees as the council shall determine are necessary for the proper administration of the town; provided, he shall appoint and remove department heads subject to the approval of the council.

ARTICLE VI. MISCELLANEOUS

Sec. 6.1. Claims and Demands. All claims or demands against the Town of Jonesville arising in tort shall be presented to the town council in writing, signed by the claimant, his attorney or lawful agent, within 90 days after said claim or demand is due or the cause of action accrues; no suit or action thereon shall be brought within 10 days or after the expiration of 12 months from the time said claim is so presented, and, unless the claim is so presented within 90 days after the cause of action accrued and unless suit is brought within 12 months thereafter, any action thereon shall be barred.

Sec. 5. Should any provision of this Act be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such invalidity shall not be deemed to repeal or to render invalid any other provision hereof, and to that end the provisions of this Act are hereby declared to be severable.

Sec. 6. All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this Act are hereby repealed.

Sec. 7. This Act shall become effective upon its ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 30th day of June, 1967.