West Virginia Code

Email: Chapter 8, Article 29A

ARTICLE 29A. COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITIES.

§8-29A-1. County airport authority authorized as public agency.

The county commission of a county is hereby authorized to create and establish as a public agency a county airport authority to be known as the "County Airport Authority" for the purposes and in the manner hereinafter set forth.

§8-29A-2. Appointment of members; powers and duties; compensation; terms; removal or replacement.

(a) The management and control of the county airport authority, its property, operations, business, and affairs, shall be lodged in a board of five persons who shall be known as Members of the Authority. The board shall constitute and be a public corporation under the name of “County Airport Authority” and as such shall have perpetual succession, may contract, and be contracted with, sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, and have and use a common seal.

(b) All members shall be appointed by the county commission: Provided, That one member of the authority shall be a member of the county commission: Provided, however, That of the remaining four members of the authority no more than two shall be members of the same political party. At least a majority of members shall be residents of the county and be appointed for a term of five years, except that as to the first four appointed to the first board appointed, the term of one member shall expire on July 1, next ensuing and the term of the next member shall expire on July 1, two years thereafter, the term of another member shall expire on July 1, three years thereafter and the term of the remaining member shall expire on July 1, four years thereafter: Provided further, That the county commissioner appointed to serve as a member of the authority shall not serve for a term as member of the authority which is longer than the term of office as a member of the county commission.

(c) The members of the board shall receive no compensation for their services, but they are entitled to reimbursement for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties as members of the board. They may not be personally interested, directly or indirectly, in any contract entered into by the board, or hold any remunerative position in connection with the establishment, construction, improvement, extension, development, maintenance or operation of any of the property under their control as members of the board: Provided, That nothing herein may be construed to prevent or make unlawful under this chapter or any other chapter of this code, the appointment to the board of any person whose only interest in any property under the control of the board is that the person in a noncommercial manner leases hangar space, purchases fuel, or contracts for any other goods or service provided by the airport authority subject to the control and management of the board.

(d) The county commission may remove any member of the authority for consistent violations of any provisions of this article, for reasonable cause which shall include, but not be limited to, a continued failure to attend meetings of the authority, failure to diligently pursue the objectives for which the authority was created or failure to perform any other duty prescribed by law, or for any misconduct in office: Provided, That if the county commission desires to remove a member of the authority it shall notify said member in writing, stating the reasons for the county commission desiring said removal. Within 10 days of the receipt of the written notice of removal by the member of the authority, the member may request a hearing before the county commission, and any such hearing shall be held within 10 days of the member’s request for said hearing.

If any member of the authority dies, resigns, or is removed, or for any other reason ceases to be a member of the authority, the county commission shall within 30 days appoint another person to fill the unexpired portion of the term of that member.

§8-29A-3. Powers generally.

(a) The authority is hereby authorized and empowered to acquire, equip, construct, improve, maintain and operate a public airport within the county, with all usual and convenient appurtenances and facilities pertaining thereto, including, but not limited to, an industrial park and a waterworks or sewerage system or a combined waterworks and sewerage system, and said airport shall be for the convenience and accommodation of the inhabitants of the county and the public generally.

(b) A county airport authority is hereby given power and authority as follows:

(1) To make and adopt all necessary bylaws, rules and regulations for its organization and operations not inconsistent with law;

(2) To elect its own officers, to appoint committees and to employ and fix the compensation for personnel including attorneys necessary for its operation;

(3) To delegate any authority given to it by law to any of its officers, committees, agents or employees;

(4) To enter into contracts with any person, governmental department, firm or corporation, and generally to do any and all things necessary or convenient for the purpose of acquiring, equipping, constructing, maintaining, improving, extending, financing and operating a public airport, including the development of an industrial park in the same general area;

(5) To apply for, receive and use grants-in-aid, donations and contributions from any source or sources, including, but not limited to, the federal government and any agency thereof, and the State of West Virginia, and to accept and use bequests, devises, gifts and donations from any person, firm or corporation;

(6) To enter into any agreement with any person, including the federal or state government, or any agency or subdivision thereof, in connection with obtaining funds for its purposes, which agreement may contain such provisions, covenants, terms and conditions as the authority may deem advisable;

(7) To accept contributions from time to time by the county commission and by any persons that shall desire so to do;

(8) To acquire lands, structures or buildings and hold title thereto in its own name, including, whenever it shall be deemed necessary by the authority, to take or acquire such property either in fee or as easements, to purchase same directly or through its agents from the owner or owners thereof, or to exercise the power of eminent domain in the manner provided for condemnation proceedings in chapter fifty-four of this code inasmuch as such purposes are hereby declared to be public uses for which private property may be taken: Provided, That such right of eminent domain shall not apply to the development of an industrial park;

(9) To sell, lease or otherwise dispose of any real estate which it may own;

(10) To purchase, own, hold, sell and dispose of personal property;

(11) To borrow money and execute and deliver negotiable notes, mortgage bonds, revenue bonds, other bonds, debentures and other evidences of indebtedness therefor, and give such security therefor as shall be requisite, including giving a mortgage or deed of trust on its airport properties and facilities or assigning or pledging the gross or net revenues therefrom;

(12) To raise funds by the issuance and sale of revenue bonds or refunding bonds in the manner provided by the applicable provisions of article sixteen of this chapter, it being hereby expressly provided that, for that purpose, a county airport authority shall be treated as a municipality or board as those terms are used in said article sixteen;

(13) To acquire, construct, establish, equip, maintain and operate, within a reasonable distance of the airport, a waterworks, a sewerage system or a combined waterworks and sewerage system for its own use and for the use of any person, and to finance the same by the issuance of revenue bonds as provided in this article: Provided, That no existing waterworks or sewerage system, or any part thereof, may be acquired without the prior consent and approval of the Public Service Commission;

(14) To establish, charge and collect reasonable fees and charges for services or for the use of any part of its property or facilities, or for both services and such use;

(15) To lease its airport and all or any part of the appurtenances and facilities therewith to any available lessee, subject to all Constitutional and statutory limitations with respect thereto, at such rental and upon such terms and conditions as the authority shall deem proper: Provided, That such lease shall be for some purpose associated with airport activities and subordinate to any mortgage or deed of trust executed by the authority; and

(16) To expend its funds in the execution of the powers and authority herein given.

§8-29A-4. Funds; accounting; reporting.

All funds received by the authority from whatever source shall be deposited in such bank or banks as the authority may direct and shall be withdrawn therefrom in such manner as the authority may direct. The authority shall keep strict account of all its receipts and expenditures and shall each quarter make a quarterly report to the county commission containing an itemized account of its receipts and disbursements during the preceding quarter. Such report shall be made within sixty days after the termination of the quarter.

Within sixty days after the end of each fiscal year, the authority shall make an annual report containing an itemized statement of its receipts and disbursements for the preceding year, and such annual report shall be published as a Class II-0 legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be the county. The books, records and accounts of the authority shall be subject to audit and examination by the office of the State Tax Commissioner of West Virginia and by any other proper public official or body in the manner provided by law.

§8-29A-5. Full-time employees of the authority to be public employees.

Any person who serves regularly as an employee, full time, on a salary basis, whose tenure is not restricted as to temporary or provisional appointment, in the service of, and whose compensation is payable in whole or in part by the authority, shall be deemed to be a public employee and shall be subject to any and all applicable provisions of law relating thereto, including, but not limited to, the workers' compensation act and the West Virginia public employees insurance act.

§8-29A-6. Authority may incur indebtedness; county not liable for indebtedness.

The authority may incur any proper indebtedness and issue any obligations and give any security therefor which it may deem necessary or advisable in connection with carrying out its purposes. No statutory limitation with respect to the nature or amount of indebtedness which may be incurred by municipalities or other bodies shall apply to indebtedness of the authority. No indebtedness of any nature of the authority shall constitute an indebtedness of the county commission, nor of the county, or a charge against any property of the county. No obligation incurred by the authority shall give any right against any member of the county commission or any member of the board of the authority. The rights of creditors of the authority shall be solely against the authority as a corporate body and shall be satisfied only out of property held by it in its corporate capacity.

§8-29A-7. Exemption from taxes; payment for portion used as industrial park.

The authority shall be exempt from the payment of any taxes or fees to the state or any subdivisions thereof or any municipalities or to any officer or employee of the state or of any subdivision thereof or of any municipalities. The property of the authority shall be exempt from all local and municipal taxes. Bonds, notes, debentures and other evidence of indebtedness of the authority are declared to be issued for a public purpose and to be public instrumentalities, and, together with interest thereon, shall be exempt from taxes.

It shall be the duty of the county assessor on July 1, of each year to ascertain what portion of the real and personal property of the authority, if any, is devoted to use as an industrial park and to appraise such property as if taxable. The assessor shall likewise determine the tax which would be levied upon such property if it were taxable. On August 1, of the year following such determination and February 1 thereafter, the authority shall pay unto the sheriff of the county a sum of money equal to that which would have been due if the property were taxable, which sums shall be distributed by the sheriff as if such sums were tax receipts.

§8-29A-8. County commission authorized to convey present airport properties and facilities to the authority.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the county commission of a county is hereby authorized to convey to the authority the present airport property owned by the county, if any, situate in the county, together with all the appurtenances and facilities therewith, such conveyance to be without consideration or for such price and upon such terms and conditions as the county commission shall deem proper.

§8-29A-9. Disposition of surplus.

If the authority should realize a surplus, whether from operating the airport or leasing it for operation, over and above the amount required for the maintenance, improvement and operation of the airport and for meeting all required payments on its obligations, it shall set aside such reserve for future operations, improvements and contingencies as it shall deem proper and shall then apply the residue of such surplus, if any, to the payment of any recognized and established obligations not then due; and after all such recognized and established obligations have been paid off and discharged in full, the authority shall, at the end of each fiscal year, set aside the reserve for future operations, improvements and contingencies, as aforesaid, and then pay the residue of such surplus, if any, to the county commission, to be used by the county commission for general county purposes.

§8-29A-10. Procedure for dissolution of authority.

The authority may at any time pay off and discharge in full all of its indebtedness, obligations and liabilities, convey the airport properties, appurtenances and facilities to the county commission and be dissolved. Before making such conveyance of its properties, the authority shall give notice of its intention to do so and of its intention to be dissolved, and said notice shall be published as a Class I-0 legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be the county. Affidavits from the publishers of the newspapers showing such publication shall be filed with the county commission before the deed conveying said properties is delivered. Any funds remaining in the hands of the authority at the time of the conveyance of said properties shall be by the authority paid over to the county commission to be used by it for purposes in connection with said airport. Upon the payment of its indebtedness, obligations and liabilities, the publishing of the notices aforesaid, the conveyance of its properties, and the paying over to the county commission of any funds remaining in its hands, the authority shall cause a certificate showing its dissolution to be executed under its name and seal and to be recorded in the office of the clerk of the county commission and thereupon its dissolution shall be complete.

§8-29A-11. Purpose of article; liberal construction; article cumulative.

It is the purpose of this article to provide for the acquisition, construction, improvement, extension, maintenance and operation of a public airport and related facilities in a prudent and economical manner, and this article shall be liberally construed as giving to the authority full and complete power reasonably required to give effect to the purposes hereof. The provisions of this article are in addition to and not in derogation of any power existing in the county commission of a county under any Constitutional or statutory provisions which it may now have, or may hereafter acquire.