Delaware General Assembly


CHAPTER 176 - CITIES AND TOWNS—NEW CASTLE

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR PUBLIC PARKS FOR THE USE OF THE CITIZENS OF NEW CASTLE, AND TO PROVIDE FOR THE CARE THEREOF, AND TO AUTHORIZE "THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL OF NEW CASTLE" TO BORROW AND ISSUE BONDS OF THE CITY FOR THAT PURPOSE.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in General Assembly met (with the concurrence of two-thirds of all the members elected to each branch thereof):

Section 1. That "The Mayor and Council of New Castle," a municipal corporation of the State of Delaware, shall have power to take and acquire lands, either by deed or devise, and to receive and accept all donations of money by gift or legacy, for the purpose of providing and maintaining one or more open spaces or parks for the promotion of the health and recreation of the people of the City of New Castle and its vicinity; and that lands within the corporate limits of the City of New Castle, or within three miles from the boundaries thereof, may be purchased or acquired by a conveyance or devise to, and the title and ownership of such lands be vested in the said "The Mayor and Council of New Castle," for the purposes aforesaid.

Section 2. The Mayor and Council of New Castle is hereby authorized and empowered to borrow, on the faith and credit of the City of New Castle, a sum not exceeding Twenty-five Thousand Dollars ($25,000.00), for the purpose of providing and maintaining one or more open spaces or parks for the promotion of the health and recreation of the people of New Castle and its vicinity, and for this purpose to issue bonds of the said municipal corporation, and the title to said lands shall be taken in the name of said municipal corporation.

Section 3. The said money shall be borrowed and the bonds issued in such amounts, at such times, in such form and denominations, and at such rate of interest, not exceeding four and one-half per cent (41/2), as the Council of said city shall by ordinance duly passed, determine. The Mayor and Council of New Castle in obtaining bids on said bonds, if such bids are obtained, may, in its discretion, require the bidders therefor to base their said bids on the interest rate which said bonds should bear. The principal of said bonds shall be made payable at the expiration of twenty (20) years from the date of the issuance thereof, the said municipal corporation reserving the right to redeem said bonds, or any of them, at a price not exceeding two points above par and accrued interest, at any interest period occurring after the date of issue, provided that if the said municipal corporation shall elect to redeem any of said bonds, as aforesaid, such redemption shall be made in pursuance of a notice to that effect published at least once a week for at least three successive weeks in at least two newspapers published either in the City of Wilmington or in the City of New Castle. In calling said bonds for redemption they shall be called consecutively, beginning with the lowest number, and the interest on all bonds so called shall cease from the date named in such call for redemption.

The Council of the said municipal corporation shall direct and effect the preparation and printing, and negotiate the sale and delivery of said bonds. The said bonds shall bear date when issued and shall bear interest from date, payable semiannually. They shall be signed by the Mayor, the President of Council, and the Treasurer of said City of New Castle, and be sealed with the corporate seal of the said municipal corporation, and shall be exempt from state, county, and municipal taxation.

The moneys received from the sale of said bonds shall be paid over to the Treasurer of the City of New Castle, and held by him as a special fund to be drawn out and used for the purposes of this Act, including the discharge of indebtedness heretofore incurred by the Trustees of New Castle Common for the purchase of the Battery Park property, upon direction of the City Council.

Section 4. The council of the said City is authorized, and unless the funds are otherwise provided, is required to levy and collect annually, by taxation, such sum of money as shall be sufficient to pay the interest accruing on said bonds; and it is further authorized and empowered to levy and collect by taxation, from time to time, such sum or sums as shall be necessary to provide a sinking fund adequate for the redemption of said bonds at or before their maturity. The taxes for such interest and sinking fund shall be levied and collected in the same manner as are the other city taxes in said city.

The taxes and sinking fund above provided for shall not be available for any other purpose.

All necessary expenses in and about the preparation, printing and sale of said bonds shall be paid out of the moneys herein authorized to be borrowed.

Should any surplus remain after the work contemplated by this Act has been accomplished, such surplus shall be held and applied towards the payment of the principal of said bonds herein authorized.

Section 5. Whereas, The Trustees of New Castle Common is a body created and incorporated for the purpose of managing and operating a large tract of land for the benefit of the citizens of New Castle, the said Trustees being elected by the citizens of New Castle, and Whereas the said Trustees of New Castle Common have, by Resolution, agreed to pay the interest on the bonds issued under the provisions of this Act, and have further agreed to pay and discharge said bonds when and as they fall due, it is therefore enacted that the superintendence, management, operation, and control of any parks or open spaces acquired for the benefit of the citizens of New Castle, shall be held by those persons who from time to time constitute the duly elected membership of The Trustees of New Castle Common, which persons are hereby designed "The Park Commission of the City of New Castle," and the said Park Commission of the City of New Castle shall have power to make all needful rules and regulations for the management and use of any park under its control, not inconsistent with the laws and constitution of the United States and the State of Delaware, or with the ordinance of the City of New Castle; and any person who shall violate any of the said rules or regulations shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall pay such fines as may be prescribed by the Park Commission, not to exceed Ten Dollars ($10.00) for each and every violation thereof, to be recovered before the Mayor of Said City, or any Justice of the Peace in New Castle County, as debts of that amount are recoverable, which fine shall be paid into the City Treasury. No intoxicating liquors shall be sold in any such public parks, and no meetings of any kind assembled through advertisement shall be permitted in any such park without the license or permission of the Park Commission having the park in charge; nor shall any gathering or meeting for political purposes in any park be permitted at any time, nor shall any person or corporation be granted any special rights or privileges therein.

The Trustees of New Castle Common may superintend, manage and control the said parks through proper committee or committees appointed by it, the members of said committee being either members of said Board of Trustees or other citizens of New Castle.

Approved April 14, 1941.