§ 1405 — Soldiers' monument corporations

§ 1405. Soldiers' monument corporations.\n (a) Property; erection of monuments.\n A corporation formed for the purpose of erecting and maintaining a\nmonument or memorial, including a memorial hall or building to\nperpetuate the memory of persons who served in the armed forces of the\nUnited Colonies or of the United States in the Revolutionary War, the\nCivil War, or in any other war in which the United States has been\nengaged may acquire and hold real property necessary for its corporate\npurposes, and may erect any such monument, monuments or memorial upon\nany public street, square or ground of any town, city or village, with\nthe consent of the proper officers thereof, or may purchase or accept\nthe donation of land suitable for that purpose; and may take and hold\nthe property given, devised or bequeathed to it in trust, to apply the\nsame or the income or proceeds thereof for the erection, improvement,\nembellishment, preservation, repair, renewal, care and maintenance of\nsuch monument, monuments or memorial, or of any structure, fences or\nwalks upon its lands, or for planting or cultivating trees, shrubs,\nflowers and plants, in and around or upon its lands, or for improving or\nembellishing the same in any manner consistent with the design and\npurposes of the association, according to the terms of such grant,\ndevise or bequest. It may take by gift or purchase any lots or lands in\nany cemetery to be used and occupied exclusively for the burial of\nhonorably discharged members of the armed forces who served in any of\nsuch wars, and for the erection of suitable monuments or memorials\ntherein.\n (b) Type of corporation.\n A soldiers' monument corporation is a charitable corporation.\n (c) Town and village aid.\n The town clerk of a town or the board of trustees of a village, upon\nthe petition of twenty-five resident taxpayers, shall submit to a\nbiennial town meeting or village election, as the case may be, a\nproposition to raise by taxation a sum stated therein, not exceeding\nfive hundred dollars in any one year, to be spent during the fiscal year\nfor which such tax is to be levied, for the purpose of erecting such a\nmonument, or contributing to the expense of such a monument, erected by\na corporation specified in this article, or for repairing, improving and\nmaintaining the same and the grounds thereof; and such tax shall be\nlevied in the manner prescribed by law for levying general taxes in such\ntown or village, and when raised shall be applied to the purposes\nspecified in such proposition.\n (d) Exemptions.\n The property of a corporation specified in this section or of a\ncorporation formed under the laws of eighteen hundred and sixty-six,\nchapter two hundred and seventy-three, as amended by laws of eighteen\nhundred and eighty-eight, chapter two hundred and ninety-nine, shall be\nexempt from levy and sale on execution, and from all public taxes, rates\nand assessments, and no street, road, avenue or thoroughfare shall be\nlaid through the lands of such association held for the purposes\naforesaid without the consent of the trustees of such corporation,\nexcept by special permission of the legislature of the state.\n (e) Improvement taxes.\n A tax may be levied and collected on the taxable property in a town,\nvillage or city in which such monument, monuments or other memorial may\nbe erected, for the purpose of repairing or improving the same and the\ngrounds thereof; and such tax shall be levied in the manner prescribed\nby law for levying general taxes in such town, village or city.\n (f) Transfer of property from unincorporated association.\n Any unincorporated association organized solely for one or more of the\npurposes set forth in paragraph (a) by a majority vote of all its\nmembers present at a meeting thereof, called as in this section\nprovided, may transfer to and vest in any incorporated association\ncreated by general or special law having like objects any or all money\nor other property which it shall have accumulated for such objects, but\nthe property so transferred shall be used exclusively for one or more of\nthe purposes mentioned in such paragraph. A vote upon the question of\ntransferring the funds or property of such unincorporated association\nshall be had only at a meeting of such association called for that\npurpose by the president or secretary or other managing officer thereof,\nupon notice stating the object of the meeting of at least ten days\nbefore the time fixed for such meeting, served personally or by mail on\neach member of the association within the United States whose residence\nor post office address is known.\n