§ 1226-H — Agreements among the water board, board of water supply, municipalities and the authority for the provision of projects

§ 1226-h. Agreements among the water board, board of water supply,\nmunicipalities and the authority for the provision of projects. 1. The\nauthority, the water board, the board of water supply and any\nmunicipality may enter into agreements for the purpose of providing for\nthe construction and financing of a project.\n 2. Any such agreements: (i) shall describe in sufficient detail for\nreasonable identification the particular project to be financed in whole\nor in part by the authority, (ii) shall describe the plan for the\nfinancing of the cost of the construction of such project, including the\namount, if any, to be provided by the water board and the source or\nsources thereof, (iii) shall set forth the method by which and by whom\nand the terms and conditions upon which moneys provided by the authority\nshall be disbursed, (iv) may require, in the discretion of the\nauthority, the payment to the authority of the proceeds of any state and\nfederal grants available to the water board, (v) shall provide for the\nestablishment of user fees, rates and other charges and the charging and\ncollection thereof by the water board for the use of, or services\nfurnished, rendered or made available by such project such as to provide\nthat the water board receive revenues at least sufficient, together with\nother revenues of the water board, if any, to meet the requirements of\nthis title, (vi) may provide for the transfer by the board of water\nsupply or by any municipality to the water board pursuant to this title\nof ownership of any project, (vii) may provide for the construction and\ncompletion of such project by such municipality or the water board and\nfor the operation, maintenance and repair thereof, subject to such terms\nand conditions, not inconsistent with this title, which may be in the\npublic interest and necessary or desirable properly and adequately to\nsecure the holders of bonds of the authority, (viii) shall provide for\nthe discontinuance or disconnection of the supply of water for\nnon-payment of fees, rates or other charges therefor imposed by the\nwater board, provided such discontinuance or disconnection of any supply\nof water shall not be carried out except in the manner and upon the\nnotice as is required of a waterworks corporation pursuant to\nsubdivisions three-a, three-b and three-c of section eighty-nine-b and\nsection one hundred sixteen of the public service law, and (ix) in the\ndiscretion of the authority, require reports concerning the project from\nthe water board to the authority and any municipality.\n 3. If the city executes an agreement pursuant to this section,\nrelating to the financing of projects by revenue bonds, it shall have\nand shall be deemed to have annulled its power to levy user fees, rents\nand other charges on participating properties or customers for the cost\nof financing, operating and maintaining such projects under its\njurisdiction until all bonds of the authority shall have been paid or\ndischarged in accordance with the agreement and the resolution of the\nauthority authorizing such bonds. If the city has outstanding general\nobligation bonds issued for acquiring or constructing water or sewerage\nfacilities, whether the bonds are payable from revenues, special\nassessments, or taxes, it may authorize the authority pursuant to the\nagreement to issue its revenue bonds under this title for the purpose of\nretiring the outstanding bonds.\n 4. No such agreement shall be executed until the water board shall\nhave held a public hearing at which users of the project shall have had\nopportunity to be heard concerning the proposed provisions thereof.\nNotice of such hearing shall be published not less than ten nor more\nthan twenty days in advance in a newspaper or newspapers having a\ngeneral circulation in the service area as designated by the water\nboard.\n 5. Such agreement shall be effective upon the issuance by the\nauthority of bonds to finance the cost of constructing projects of the\ncity or the water board.\n 6. Any such agreement may be amended, revised or extended by\nsupplemental agreements authorized and executed in the same manner as\nthe original agreement, provided that any such supplemental agreement\nshall not be inconsistent with the provisions of this title.\n 7. (a) Following the execution of the initial agreement by and between\nthe authority, the water board, the board of water supply and any\nmunicipality pursuant to this section, the secretary of the water board\nshall, and following the execution of any subsequent agreement by and\nbetween the authority, the water board, the board of water supply, and\nany municipality pursuant to this section may, publish a notice in\nsubstantially the following form:\n "Notice is hereby given that (here insert the parties to the\nagreement) (has) (have) on the _ day of _ entered into an agreement\nwith the upper Mohawk valley regional water finance authority in\nrelation to the construction and financing of (here insert a brief\ndescription of the water project or facility to which such agreement\nrelates) pursuant to the upper Mohawk valley regional water finance\nauthority act for the purpose of placing its water facilities on an\nindependent basis, imposing fees and rates on water users, which,\ntogether with other revenues available for such purposes, if any, are\nsufficient to pay to the authority debt service on bonds issued by the\nauthority pursuant to the agreement and for operation and maintenance of\nthe facility (title to which is transferred to the water board pursuant\nto the agreement). Such agreement in general terms provides (here insert\na brief summary of the substantive provisions of such agreement).\n A copy of the complete agreement is on file for public inspection in\nthe office of the secretary of the water board where the same may be\nexamined by any interested person during regular business hours. The\nvalidity of the agreement may be hereafter contested only upon the\nground or grounds that: (i) such agreement violates, or the performance\nof any provision thereof by any party thereto would violate, the\nprovisions of the state constitution or (ii) the provisions of law which\nshould have been complied with in relation to the authorization and\nexecution thereof were not substantially complied with, and an action,\nsuit or proceeding is commenced within sixty days after the date of this\nnotice."\n (b) The publication authorized by this subdivision shall be in a\nnewspaper or newspapers having a general circulation in the service area\nas designated by the water board.\n (c) After the expiration of the sixty day period set forth in such\nnotice, the validity of such agreement shall be conclusively presumed\nand the validity thereof shall not thereafter be questioned by either a\nparty plaintiff or a party defendant and no court shall have\njurisdiction in any action, suit or proceeding contesting such validity.\n (d) Neither any error nor omission in the notice of publication\nprovided for in this subdivision shall affect or impair the validity of\nan agreement executed pursuant to this section so long as the notice\nsubstantially conforms to the provisions of this section.\n