Chapter 026
2003 -- S 0955
Enacted 04/10/03
A N A C T
AUTHORIZING THE BRISTOL WARREN
REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT TO FINANCE CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN
BRISTOL, RHODE ISLAND, AND ADDITIONS, IMPROVEMENTS AND RENOVATIONS TO HUGH COLE
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN WARREN, RHODE ISLAND, BYFIELD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN
BRISTOL, RHODE ISLAND, INCLUDING SITE INFRASTRUCTURE AND IMPROVEMENTS, THE
FURNISHING AND EQUIPPING THEREOF AND THE PROVISION OF ARCHITECTURAL,
ENGINEERING, SURVEYING AND OTHER SERVICES NECESSARY OR APPROPRIATE THEREFOR,
AND TO ISSUE NOT MORE THAN $38,000,000 BONDS AND NOTES THEREFOR
Introduced By: Senators
Parella, Felag, and Bates
Date
Introduced: March 25, 2003
It is enacted by the General
Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. The Bristol Warren Regional School District is hereby empowered, in
addition to authority previously
granted, to issue bonds to an amount not exceeding thirty-eight
million dollars ($38,000,000) from
time to time under its corporate name and seal. The bonds of
each issue may be issued in the
form of serial bonds or term bonds or a combination thereof and
shall be payable either by
maturity of principal in the case of serial bonds or by mandatory serial
redemption in the case of term
bonds, in annual installments of principal, the first installment to
be not later than five (5) years
and the last installment not later than thirty (30) years after the date
of the bonds. All such bonds of a
particular issue may be issued in the form of zero coupon
bonds, capital appreciation bonds,
serial bonds or term bonds or a combination thereof. Annual
installments of principal may be
provided for by maturity of principal in the case of serial bonds
or by mandatory serial redemption
in the case of term bonds. The amount of principle
appreciation each year on any
bonds, after the date of original issuance, shall not be considered to
be principal indebtedness for the
purposes of any constitutional or statutory debt limit or any
other limitation. The appreciation
of principal after the date of original issue shall be considered
interest. Only the original
principal amount shall be counted in determining the principal amount
so issued and any interest component
shall be disregarded. For each issue the amounts payable in
the several years for principal
and interest combined either shall be as nearly equal from year to
year as is practicable to make
them in the opinion of the officers authorized to issue the bonds, or
in the alternative, in accordance
with a schedule providing for a more rapid amortization of
principal.
SECTION
2. The bonds shall be signed by the manual or facsimile signatures of the
treasurer and the chairperson of
the regional district school committee (the "school committee")
and shall be issued and sold in
such amounts as the school committee may authorize. The manner
of sale, denominations,
maturities, interest rates and other terms, conditions and details of any
bonds or notes issued under this
act may be fixed by proceedings of the school committee
authorizing the issue or by
separate resolution of the school committee or, to the extent provisions
for these matters are not so made,
they may be fixed by the officers authorized to sign the bonds
or notes. Interest coupons (if
any) shall bear the manual or facsimile signature of the treasurer.
The proceeds derived from the sale
of the bonds shall be delivered to the treasurer, and such
proceeds, exclusive of premiums and
accrued interest, shall be expended (a) to finance the design
and construction of a new
elementary school in Bristol, Rhode Island, (b) to finance the design,
construction, additions,
improvements, renovations, alterations and repairs to the Hugh Cole
Elementary School and the Byfield
Elementary School, and (c) to finance site infrastructure and
improvements and the acquisition
of furnishings and equipment, and the provision of
architectural, engineering,
surveying and other services necessary or appropriate for the projects
set forth in (a) and (b) above,
(d) once the projects set forth in (a), (b) and (c) above are
completed, to the extent there are
bond proceeds, to finance the design and construction of
renovations, improvements,
alterations and repairs to the Reynolds School, including the
furnishings and equipping thereof
and the provision of architectural, engineering, surveying and
other services necessary or
appropriate therefor, (e) in payment of the principal of and interest on
temporary notes issued under
section three, (f) in repayment in advances under section four, (g) in
payment of related costs of
issuance of any bonds or notes, and/or (h) to finance capitalized
interests on the above described
projects (the "Projects"). No purchaser of any bonds or notes
under this act shall be in any way
responsible for the proper application of the proceeds derived
from the sale thereof. The
Projects shall be carried out and all contracts made therefor on behalf
of the district by the school
committee, or as may be otherwise delegated to the regional district
school building committee by the
school committee. The proceeds of bonds or notes issued under
this act, any applicable federal
or state assistance, and the other moneys referred to in sections six
and nine shall be deemed
appropriated for the purposes of this act without further action than that
required by this act. The
treasurer and chairperson of the school committee, on behalf of the
district, are hereby authorized to
execute such instruments, documents or other papers as either of
them deem necessary or desirable
to carry out the intent of this act and are also authorized to take
all actions and execute all
documents or agreements necessary to comply with federal tax and
securities laws, which documents
or agreements may have a term coextensive with the maturity
of the bonds authorized hereby,
including Rule 15c2-12 of the Securities and Exchange
Commission and to execute and
deliver a continuing disclosure agreement or certificate in
connection with the bonds or
notes.
SECTION
3. The school committee may by resolution authorize the issue from time to
time of interest bearing or
discounted notes in anticipation of the issue of bonds or in anticipation
of the receipt of federal or state
aid for the purposes of this act. The amount of original notes
issued in anticipation of bonds
may not exceed the amount of bonds which may be issued under
this act and the amount of
original notes issued in anticipation of federal or state aid may not
exceed the amount of available
federal or state aid as estimated by the treasurer. Temporary notes
issued hereunder shall be signed
by the manual or facsimile signature of the treasurer and the
chairperson of the school
committee and shall be payable within five (5) years from their
respective dates, but the
principal of and interest on notes issued for a shorter period may be
renewed or paid from time to time
by the issue of other notes hereunder, provided the period from
the date of an original note to
the maturity or any note issued to renew or pay the same debt or the
interest thereon shall not exceed
five (5) years.
SECTION
4. Pending any authorization or issue of bonds hereunder or pending or in lieu
of any authorization or issue of
notes hereunder, the treasurer, with the approval of the school
committee, may, to the extent that
bonds or notes may be issued hereunder, apply funds in the
treasury of the district to the purposes
specified in section two, such advances to be repaid
without interest from the proceeds
of bonds or notes subsequently issued or from the proceeds of
applicable federal or state
assistance or from other available funds.
SECTION
5. Any proceeds of bonds or notes issued hereunder or of any applicable
federal or state assistance,
pending their expenditure, may be deposited or invested by the
treasurer in demand deposits, time
deposits or savings deposits in banks which are members of
the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation or in obligations issued or guaranteed by the United
States of America or by any agency
or instrumentality thereof or as may be provided in any other
applicable law of the State of
Rhode Island or resolution of the school committee or pursuant to
an investment policy of the
district.
SECTION
6. Any accrued interest received upon the sale of bonds or notes hereunder
shall be applied to the payment of
the first interest due thereon. Any premiums arising from the
sale of bonds or notes hereunder
and any earnings or net profit realized from the deposit or
investment of funds hereunder
shall, in the discretion of the treasurer, be applied to the cost of
preparing, issuing and marketing
bonds or notes hereunder to the extent not otherwise provided,
to the payment of the cost of the
Projects, to the payment of the principal of or interest on bonds
or notes issued hereunder or to
any one (1) or more of the foregoing. The cost of preparing,
issuing and marketing bonds or
notes hereunder may also, in the discretion of the treasurer, be
met from bond or note proceeds
exclusive of premium and accrued interest or from other moneys
available therefor. Any balance of
bond or note proceeds remaining after payment of the cost of
the Projects and the cost of
preparing, issuing and marketing bonds or notes hereunder shall be
applied to the payment of the
principal of or interest on bonds or notes issued hereunder. In
exercising any discretion under
this section, the treasurer shall be governed by any instructions
adopted by resolution of the
school district.
SECTION
7. All bonds and notes issued under this act and the debts evidenced thereby
shall be obligatory on the
district in the same manner and to the same extent as such debts are
obligatory under the laws of this
state on incorporated towns of this state. All bonds and notes
issued under this act and the
debts evidenced thereby shall be excepted from the operation of
section 16-3-17 of the general
laws, section 3, XIV of Chapter 330 of the 1991 public laws of the
State of Rhode Island (the
"Enabling Statute") and any other provision of charter, special law
or
general law limiting the issuance
of debt. No such obligation shall at any time be included in the
debt of the either member town for
the purpose of ascertaining its borrowing capacity, nor shall it
be subject to the provisions of
section 45-12-2 of the general laws with respect to each member
town. The district shall annually
appropriate and apportion between the member towns a sum
sufficient to pay the principal
and interest coming due within the year on bonds and notes issued
hereunder to the extent that
moneys therefor are not otherwise provided, and each town shall,
annually, appropriate a sum sufficient
to pay its share of the apportionment. If such sum is not
appropriated, it shall
nevertheless be added to the annual tax levy. In order to provide such sum in
each year and notwithstanding any
provision of law to the contrary, all taxable property in each
member town shall be subject to ad
valorem taxation by the town without limitation as to rate or
amount to pay the town's share of
such apportionment.
SECTION
8. Any bonds or notes issued under the provisions of this act, if properly
executed by officers of the
district in office on the date of execution, shall be valid and binding
according to their terms
notwithstanding that before the delivery thereof and payment therefor
any or all of such officers shall
for any reason have ceased to hold office.
SECTION
9. The district, acting by its school committee, is authorized to apply for,
contract for and expend any
federal or state advances or other grants or assistance which may be
available for the purposes of this
act, and any such expenditures may be in addition to other
moneys provided in this act. To
the extent of any inconsistency between any law of this state and
any applicable federal law or
regulation, the latter shall prevail. Federal and state advances, with
interest where applicable, whether
contracted for prior to or after the effective date of this act,
may be repaid as Project costs
under section two.
SECTION
10. Bonds and notes may be issued under this act without obtaining the
approval of any governmental
agency or the taking of any proceedings or the happening of any
conditions or compliance with any
general or special law except as specifically required by this
act for such issue. In carrying
out any Projects financed in whole or in part under this act,
including where applicable the
condemnation of any land or interest in land, and in the levy and
collection of assessments or other
charges permitted by law on account of any such Projects, all
action shall be taken which is necessary
to meet constitutional requirements whether or not such
action is otherwise required by
statute; but the validity of bonds and notes issued hereunder shall
in no way depend upon the validity
or occurrence of such action.
SECTION
11. The regional district school building committee for the work authorized
hereunder shall be constituted as
follows:
There
shall be a regional district school building committee which shall serve at the
pleasure of the school committee
and which shall consist of no more than seven members, each of
whom shall be appointed by the
school committee and representative of each town, and no more
than two ex officio members, each
of whom shall be appointed by the Superintendent, who shall
have experience in the supervision
of public works projects. Ex officio members shall not be
entitled to vote on any matter
before the regional district school building committee.
Such
regional district school building committee, if not earlier appointed by the
school
committee, shall be appointed
within thirty days after the passage of the referendum authorized
under section 12 of this act, and
upon appointment shall meet at the call of the chairperson of the
school committee; at its initial
meeting, the regional district school building committee shall
organize itself by the election of
a chairperson, a vice-chairperson for construction, a vice-
chairperson for finance, a
secretary and such other officers as it shall deem necessary.
The
regional district school building committee shall have the following powers and
duties as delegated to it by the
school committee, including:
(a)
To secure competent consultant, architectural and engineering services for the
making
of surveys, the preparation of
plans and specifications for the projects specified in Section 2 of
this act, and the supervision of
such construction, the monitoring of the costs of such projects, and
the employment of contractors and
such legal and professional assistance as may be necessary.
(b)
To make all contracts and agreements that may be necessary for the exercise of
the
powers vested in said regional
district school building committee by subparagraph (a) hereof and
to make such expenditures and
incur such liabilities as may be necessary to construct, equip and
finance the Projects authorized in
Section 3 of this act, provided that the same shall not exceed
the sum authorized hereunder.
The
term of the regional district school building committee shall be at least six
years, or
until such time as the new
construction, additions, improvements and renovations have been
constructed and accepted by the
architects engaged by the regional district school building
committee and the school committee
for one year thereafter, whereupon the term of office of said
regional district school building
committee shall terminate.
The
school committee shall have the power to remove any member with or without
cause. In event of a vacancy on
the regional district school building committee (whether by
resignation, inability to serve or
removal of a member) said vacancy shall be filled by the school
committee.
No
member of the regional district school building committee shall be held
personally
liable for damages in the
performance of his or her duties as a member of said committee.
SECTION
12. The question of the approval of this act shall be submitted to the electors
of the towns of Bristol and Warren
at a special election to be held at polling places in each town
on June 10, 2003, or on any date
as shall be designated by the school committee. For the purpose
of holding the special election on
said question, there shall be issued in each town a warning such
as that which is prescribed by law
for the calling of a special financial town meeting, which shall
contain the question to be
submitted and shall state the day, the place, and the time for casting
ballots upon the said question.
The question shall be submitted in substantially the following
form:
“Shall
an act, passed at the 2003 session of the General Assembly, entitled ‘AN ACT
AUTHORIZING THE BRISTOL WARREN
REGIONAL SCHOOL DISTRICT TO FINANCE
CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL IN BRISTOL, RHODE ISLAND,
AND ADDITIONS, IMPROVEMENTS AND
RENOVATIONS TO HUGH COLE
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN WARREN, RHODE
ISLAND, BYFIELD ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL IN BRISTOL, RHODE ISLAND,
INCLUDING SITE INFRASTRUCTURE AND
IMPROVEMENTS, THE FURNISHING AND
EQUIPPING THEREOF AND THE
PROVISION OF ARCHITECTURAL,
ENGINEERING, SURVEYING AND OTHER
SERVICES NECESSARY OR APPROPRIATE
THEREFOR, AND TO ISSUE NOT MORE
THAN $38,000,000 BONDS AND NOTES
THEREFOR’ be approved?”
From
the date the election is warned and until it is held, it shall be the duty of
the town
clerks of the respective towns of Bristol
and Warren to keep a copy of the act available at their
offices for public inspection, but
the validity of the election shall not be affected by this
requirement. To the extent of any
inconsistency between this act and the town charters of either
or both towns, this act shall
prevail.
SECTION
13. This section and the foregoing section shall take effect upon the passage
of
this act. The remainder of this
act shall take effect upon the approval of this act by (a) a majority
of the electors voting on the
question in the town of Warren, Rhode Island and (b) a majority of
the electors voting on the
question in the town of Bristol, Rhode Island.
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LC02779
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