(a) The county may purchase or acquire by gift any existing water, sewerage, drainage, or solid waste system, or parts thereof, including those owned, operated by, or serving any municipality, or any land, structure, buildings, stream bed, water rights, or watershed, either in fee or as an easement, which in its judgment is desirable or necessary for the purpose of providing adequate water, sewerage, drainage, or solid waste service or any of them for the residents of the service area. Any such purchase may be made upon such terms and conditions as may be agreed upon, but before any part of the purchase price is paid, other than a nominal sum of money to bind the agreement, it is the duty of the vendor or agent to furnish a statement to the board setting forth all names and addresses of persons having any interest or claims against the property whatsoever, which shall be verified by an oath in writing.
(b) Thereupon, it is the duty of the board to notify personally or by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, all persons having any interest whatever in the property, and in addition the board shall give three weeks’ notice of its intention to purchase the property, in a newspaper or newspapers published within the service area where the property is located; and each person having any claim whatever against the property shall file its, his, or her claim with the board on or before the expiration date mentioned in the notice at which time any and all persons shall be heard.
(c) Any municipality whose system or any portion thereof is acquired by the county by purchase may use the amount paid to it for the system for the purchase or redemption of any bonds or debt which may be outstanding against the same; or the county, as part of the purchase price of the system, may assume the payment of any such bond or debt. The county may purchase any existing water, sewerage or drainage systems, in whole or in part, which are necessary or desirable for the purpose of carrying out the powers vested in it by this chapter.
(Code 1959, § 10A-10; 1968, Chapter 609, § 1; 1979, Chapter 723, § 1; 1991, Chapter 194, § 1)
Editor’s note:
Ch. 723 of the 1979 Acts designated the above section as section 10A-10 of the 1959 county code; however, such section constitutes an amendment and renumbering of former section 10A-4 of the 1959 Code.