19-3512.   Annexation of territory or extension of boundaries;procedure; election; dissolution of certain rural water districts, when.(a) Subject to the provisions of K.S.A. 19-270,and amendments thereto, any water district, formedunder provisions of this act and owningor maintaining a water system, may annex adjoining territory for thepurpose of supplying and distributing water in such territory upon thepresentation to its board of a petition signed by the owners of 51%of the land in the area sought to be added to such waterdistrict. Such petition shall contain a description of the territoryproposed to be annexed, by sections, or subdivisions of sections, accordingto the government survey or by metes and bounds. The board may annex theterritory described if it finds the annexation will be of benefit to thedistrict. Copies of all annexation resolutions and petitions shall befiled in the office of the county clerk and in the office of the registerof deeds of all counties in which a portion of such district lies.

      (b)   The board of any water district organized hereunder and the boardor governing body of any otherwater utility, as defined by K.S.A. 19-3501, and amendments thereto, which adjoinssuch districtare hereby authorized andempowered to enter into an agreement providing for the extension of theboundaries of such water district to include part or all of another waterutility or area served by the otherwater utility. Such agreement may provide, but not necessarily belimited to, the terms and conditions for: (1) The transfer of control andownership ofsuch other water utility's water supply anddistribution system, including all property, equipment, records, reportsand funds, to the water district; (2) the continued service to customers ofsuch system by such district; and (3) the assumption of all or part of therevenue bond liability and any other outstanding obligations of such otherwater utility.

      The water district board and thegoverning body of such other water utility shall eachadopt a resolution approving such agreement, and a copy of such agreementshall be filed for public inspection in the office of the county clerk ofeach county in which a portion or all of the area served by suchdistrict or such other water utility lies.The water district board shall cause notice of theapproval of the agreement to extend the boundaries of such district and theoffices in which it has been filed to be published once in a newspaper ornewspapers of general circulation in the areas served by such district andsuch other water utility.Suchnotice shall state that the proposed extension shall bemade unless there is presented to the water district board orthe governing body of such otherwater utility a protestpetition as hereinafterprovided.No protest may be presented by anystockholder of any such other water utility which has approved such agreement.

      If, within 60 days after publication of such notice, there is presentedeither to the water district board or to the governing body of any suchother water utility awritten protest against the proposed extension signed byqualified electors of the water district or of the area served by anysuch other water utility,respectively, equal to 2% of the qualified electorswho voted at the last preceding general election, the board or the governingbody of the other waterutility shall present such proposed extension to thequalified electors of the water district or of suchother water utility at a specialelection called and held in the same manner provided by K.S.A. 19-3507a and 19-3508, andamendments thereto.The boundaryextension shall not be made unless approved by a majority of the qualifiedelectors voting thereon at the election hereinbefore required.

      (c)   Notwithstanding the provisions of K.S.A. 82a-629, and amendmentsthereto, whenever the water district enters an agreement pursuant tosubsection (b) with a rural water district and such agreement provides forthe: (1) Total transfer of the rural water district's water supply anddistribution system; (2) continuation of service to all customers of therural water district; and (3) assumption of all revenue bond liability andany other outstanding obligations of the rural water district, the ruralwater district shall bedissolved if the agreement and the published notice so provide.

      History:   L. 1951, ch. 240, § 12; L. 1957, ch. 192, § 8; L. 1963,ch. 199, §1; L. 1975, ch. 170, § 4;L. 1985, ch. 100, § 2;L. 1986, ch. 70, § 12;L. 1988, ch. 107, § 1; July 1.