19-3531.   Powers of the board.For the purpose of providing a water supply for the public water supplydistricts, municipalities, and publicly and privately owned waterdistribution companies within the said county, the district, and on itsbehalf the board shall have the following powers, authorities andprivileges:

      (1)   To have perpetual existence;

      (2)   To accept by gift or grant from any person, firm, corporation,public or private, trust or foundation, or this state or any other state orany political subdivision or municipality thereof, or from the UnitedStates, any funds or property or any interest therein for the uses andpurposes of the district and to hold title thereto in trust or otherwiseand to bind the district to apply the same according to the terms of suchgift or grant;

      (3)   To sue and be sued, and be a party to suits, actions andproceedings;

      (4)   To contract and be contracted with and to enter into franchises,contracts and agreements with this or any other state or the United Statesor any municipality, political subdivision or district thereof, or any oftheir agencies or instrumentalities, or any public or private person,partnership, association, or corporation of this state or of any otherstate or of the United States, and this state and any such municipality,political subdivision, district, or any of their agencies orinstrumentalities, and any such public or private person, partnership,association, or corporation are hereby authorized to enter into contractsand agreements with such district for any term of years not exceeding forty(40) for the planning, development, construction, acquisition, or operationof any facility or for any common or other service rendered to, for, or bysaid district;

      (5)   To borrow money and evidence the same by warrants, notes, or bondsas hereinafter provided in this act, and to refund the same by the issuanceof refunding obligations;

      (6)   To acquire by purchase or lease, construct, install, and operatereservoirs, pipelines, wells, check dams, pumping stations, waterpurification plants, and other facilities for the production, wholesaledistribution, and utilization of water, to own and hold such real andpersonal property as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of itsorganization;

      (7)   To have the general management, control, and supervision of all thebusiness, affairs, property, and facilities of the district, and toestablish regulations relating thereto and the construction, installation,operation, and maintenance of district improvements therein;

      (8)   To hire and retain agents, employees, engineers and attorneys and todetermine their compensation. The board shall select and appoint a generalmanager of the district and his term of office shall be during the pleasureof said board, who shall be not less than thirty (30) years of age and withtraining and experience in the supervision and administration of watersystems, who shall manage and control the water system under the generalsupervision of said board. All employees, servants and agents of thedistrict shall be under the immediate control and management of saidgeneral manager. The general manager shall perform all such other duties asmay be prescribed by said board and shall give the board a good andsufficient surety company bond in a sum to be set and approved by the boardconditioned upon the satisfactory performance of his duties. The board mayalso require that any other employees be bonded in such amount as theyshall determine. The cost of said bonds shall be paid out of the funds ofthe said district;

      (9)   To have and exercise the power of condemnation in the mannerprovided by article 5 of chapter 26 of the Kansas Statutes Annotated totake any property within or without the district necessary to the exerciseof the powers herein granted;

      (10)   The board shall have the sole discretion of determining whatfacilities are to be initially acquired, constructed and operated by thedistrict and the area of the county within which the district will renderits services. Likewise, the board shall have the sole discretion ofdetermining what additions, extensions or enlargements shall be made to thefacilities of the district and the board shall not be required or obligatedto own or operate facilities to serve any area of the district which, inthe board's opinion, is not economically feasible to serve;

      (11)   To adopt and amend rules and regulations not in conflict with theconstitution and laws of this state, necessary for the carrying on of thebusiness, objects and affairs of the board and of the district, and torefer to the proper authorities for prosecuting any infraction thereofdetrimental to the district;

      (12)   To fix rates for the sale of water and provide for the collectionof said rates. The rates or charges so fixed shall, at all times, bereasonable, but in determining the reasonableness of rates or charges, theboard shall take into consideration the sum or sums required to retireoutstanding bonds of the district and the interest accruing thereon, theneed for the extension of mains, repairs, depreciation, enlargement ofplant, adequate service, obsolescence, overhead charges, operating expensesand the need of an operating fund out of which the district may protectitself in emergencies and out of which the incidental expenses of thedistrict may readily be met;

      (13)   To lay, maintain and repair pipelines in public highways, roads,streets, and alleys within or without the district, but the same shall bedone under reasonable rules and regulations of governmental bodies havingjurisdiction of such public places. In the construction of ditches, layingof mains, filling of ditches after mains are laid, connection of servicepipes and repairing of lines, due regard must be taken of the rights of thepublic in its use of thoroughfares and the equal rights of other utilitiesthereto;

      (14)   To have and exercise all rights and powers necessary or incidentalto or implied from the specific powers granted herein. Such specific powersshall not be considered as a limitation upon any power necessary orappropriate to carry out the purposes of this act.

      History:   L. 1961, ch. 473, § 10; L. 1965, ch. 185, §1; June 30.