Kansas Statutes 24-1209. Corporate powers and duties
Each watershed district incorporated under the provisions of this act shall be a body politic and corporate and shall have the power:
First. To adopt a seal.
Terms Used In Kansas Statutes 24-1209
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
- Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
- Personal property: includes money, goods, chattels, evidences of debt and things in action, and digital assets as defined in the revised uniform fiduciary access to digital assets act, Kan. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
- Personal property: All property that is not real property.
- Precedent: A court decision in an earlier case with facts and law similar to a dispute currently before a court. Precedent will ordinarily govern the decision of a later similar case, unless a party can show that it was wrongly decided or that it differed in some significant way.
- Property: includes personal and real property. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
- Residence: means the place which is adopted by a person as the person's place of habitation and to which, whenever the person is absent, the person has the intention of returning. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
- seal: includes an impression of the seal upon the paper alone, as well as upon wax or a wafer affixed to the paper. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Kansas Statutes 77-201
- watershed: shall mean all of the area within the state draining toward a selected point on any watercourse, stream, lake or depression;
(i) "subwatershed" shall mean a division of the district as nearly equal in size to other divisions of the district as feasible and including as nearly as practicable one or more tributaries to the main stream which drains from the district;
(j) "qualified voter" shall mean any qualified elector of the district and any person 18 years of age or over owning land within the district, although not a resident therein;
(k) "landowner" shall mean the record owner of the fee in any real estate in the district or the fee in the surface rights of any real estate in the district, but the owners of an oil and gas lease, mineral rights or interest, easements or mortgages as such shall not be considered landowners, and school districts, cemetery associations and municipal corporations shall not be considered landowners;
(l) "steering committee" shall be the group of qualified voters, not less than the number to be chosen for the board of directors, who shall serve as the governing body of the proposed watershed district until the first board of directors is elected;
(m) "general plan" shall mean a preliminary engineering report describing the characteristics of the district, the nature and methods of dealing with the soil and water problems within the district, and the projects proposed to be undertaken by the district. See Kansas Statutes 24-1202
Second. To sue and be sued by its corporate name.
Third. To purchase, hold, sell and convey land and personal property and to execute such contracts as may, by its board of directors, be deemed necessary or convenient to enable it to properly carry out the purpose for which organized.
Fourth. To construct, improve, maintain and operate works of improvement including such facilities and appurtenances as necessary for the conservation of soil, prevention of floods, disposal of water and the conservation, development and utilization of water for domestic, municipal, agricultural, industrial, recreational purposes and such other uses as may be authorized by the provisions of Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 82a-701 to 82a-725, inclusive, and any amendments thereto; and in any case where the construction, improvement or operation of such works causes the substantial displacement of a wildlife habitat and when required by the soil conservation service of the United States department of agriculture as a condition precedent to the release of federal funds for such works, to acquire land for the purpose of restoring such wildlife habitat. The power of eminent domain shall not be used for any such acquisition.
Fifth. To operate or lease any and all district properties and facilities associated with the use of water and to collect reasonable fees, rentals, tolls, and charges for the use of such facilities, said revenue to be placed in the maintenance fund of the district. Where the property is leased the lessee or anyone authorized to collect such fees, rentals, tolls and charges shall conform to a schedule approved by the board of directors of the district.
Sixth. To employ such professional services and other assistance as is, by its board of directors, deemed essential. Soil conservation engineering services may be used whenever available.
Seventh. To acquire personal property by gift or purchase.
Eighth. To acquire land and interests in land by gift, purchase, exchange or eminent domain; such power of eminent domain to be exercised within or without the boundaries of the district in like manner as provided by Kan. Stat. Ann. §§ 26-501 to 26-516, inclusive, or any amendments thereto.
Ninth. To levy taxes and assessments, issue bonds and incur indebtedness within the limitations prescribed by this act.
Tenth. To cooperate and contract with persons, firms, associations, partnerships and private corporations, and with other watershed districts, drainage districts, and cities of all classes of this state, and with drainage districts, watershed districts, or other public corporations organized for similar purposes in any adjoining state and with other local, state and federal governmental agencies and to enter into co-operative contracts and agreements with any such districts, corporations or agencies.
Eleventh. (a) To take appropriate actions to extend and transfer the territory of the district, receive territory transferred from other districts, and dissolve all or a portion of the district as provided for in this act; (b) to merge with adjoining watershed districts, subject to approval of a majority of the qualified voters voting on the proposition in each of the districts proposing to merge.
Twelfth. To select a residence or home office for the watershed district, which shall be at a place in a county in which the watershed district or any part thereof is located and may be either within or without the watershed district as may be designated by the board of directors. The board shall thereupon designate the county in which said residence or home office is located as the official county for the filing of all official acts and levies. After an official county has been so designated, said county designation shall not be changed even though the residence or home office of said watershed district may be changed at a later date.