S.L. 1979-1078

1979 SESSION

CHAPTER 1078

HOUSE BILL 1559

AN ACT TO REPEAL A CERTAIN PROVISION OF CHAPTER 501 OF THE 1979 SESSION LAWS RELATING TO THE GREENSBORO-HIGH POINT AIRPORT AUTHORITY, ESTABLISHING ENABLING LEGISLATION FOR SAID AUTHORITY, RE-ENACTING AND RATIFYING CERTAIN PRIOR LAWS RELATING TO SAID AUTHORITY AND PROVIDING FOR THE MEMBERSHIP OF SAID AUTHORITY.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1. It is hereby found and determined as follows:

(a) the Greensboro-High Point Airport Authority (The "Authority") was duly created under and pursuant to Chapter 98 of the 1941 Public-Local Laws of North Carolina, as amended by Chapter 601 of the 1943 Session Laws, Chapter 137 of the 1945 Session Laws, Chapter 1198 of the 1957 Session Laws and Chapter 793 of the 1969 Session Laws;

(b) the Authority as created pursuant to said Chapter 98 has been operating and continues to operate the Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem Regional Airport (the "Airport");

(c) Chapter 501 of the 1979 Session Laws, entitled "An Act to Revise and Consolidate the Charter of the City of High Point and to Repeal Prior Charter Acts", in repealing certain acts or portions of acts described therein as having served the purposes for which they were enacted or having been consolidated into said Chapter 501, included said Chapter 98 creating the Authority; and

(d) it was not the intent of the General Assembly of North Carolina by the enactment of said Chapter 501 relating to the revision of the Charter of the City of High Point to repeal or modify in any respect the provisions of said Chapter 98 relating to the Authority.

Sec. 2. That the specific provision of Sec. 4 of said Chapter 501 purporting to repeal said Chapter 98 of the 1941 Public-Local Laws of North Carolina is hereby repealed.

Sec. 3. Legislation for the Authority is provided as follows:

Section (a). There is hereby created the "Greensboro-High Point Airport Authority" (for brevity hereinafter referred to as the "Airport Authority"), which shall be a body corporate and politic, having the powers and jurisdiction hereinafter enumerated and such other and additional powers as shall be conferred upon it by future acts of the General Assembly.

Section (b). The Airport Authority shall consist of five members of whom two shall be resident voters of the City of High Point, two shall be resident voters of the City of Greensboro, and one from Guilford County at-large. Upon the expiration of the terms of the present members of the Airport Authority in April, 1970, the City Council of the City of Greensboro shall appoint one member to the Airport Authority for a term of three years and the City Council of the City of High Point shall appoint one member to the Airport Authority for a period of three years. Thereafter each of said City Councils shall appoint one member for a term of three years upon the expiration of the term of the member appointed by it. Upon the expiration of the term of the present members of the Airport Authority in April, 1970, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners shall appoint the at-large member for a term of three years and shall appoint the two other members, with one of said two members being appointed for a term of one year and the other for a term of two years. Thereafter, upon the expiration of the term of any member appointed by it, the Guilford County Board of Commissioners shall appoint all members to be appointed by it for terms of three years each. Any of the foregoing to the contrary notwithstanding, the present members of the Airport Authority and their terms shall be as set forth in Section 6 of this Act; provided that following the respective expirations of the terms of such present members, the members of the Airport Authority shall be appointed and shall serve for the terms as provided in this Section (b). Any vacancy occurring among the membership of the Airport Authority shall be filled by appointment of a member for the unexpired term thereof, such appointment to be made by the City Council or Board of Commissioners whose appointee creates such vacancy. Each of the members and their successors so appointed shall take and subscribe before the Clerk of the Superior Court of Guilford County, an oath of office and file the same with the Guilford County Board of Commissioners. All duly appointed members of the Airport Authority shall serve as such members until their respective successors have been duly appointed and sworn in the manner above set forth.

Section (c). The members of the Airport Authority, for the purpose of doing business, shall constitute a Board of Directors, which may adopt suitable bylaws, not inconsistent with the provisions of this act, for its management. The members of the Board shall receive no compensation per diem or otherwise, but shall be allowed and paid their actual traveling, lodging, and meal expenses incurred in transacting the business and at the instance of the said Airport Authority.

Section (d). The said Airport Authority shall constitute a body, both corporate and politic, and shall have the following powers and authority:

(1) to purchase, acquire, establish, construct, own, control, lease, equip, improve, maintain, operate, and regulate airports or landing fields for the use of airplanes and other aircraft, and all facilities incidental to the operation of such airports or landing fields, within the limits of Guilford County; and for any of such purposes, to purchase, acquire, own, hold, lease and/or operate real or personal property;

(2) to purchase real or personal property;

(3) to sue or be sued in the name of said Airport Authority, to acquire by purchase and to hold lands for the purpose of constructing, maintaining or operating any airport within the limits of said county, and to make such contracts and to hold such personal property as may be necessary for the exercise of the powers of the said Airport Authority. The said Airport Authority may acquire by purchase, or otherwise, any existing lease, leasehold right or other interest in any existing airport located in the county of Guilford;

(4) to charge and collect reasonable and adequate fees, royalties, rents or other charges for the use of property owned, leased or otherwise controlled or operated by said Airport Authority or for services rendered in the operation thereof;

(5) to make all reasonable rules and regulations as it deems necessary for the proper maintenance, use, operation, and control of any airport or airport facilities owned, leased, or controlled by said Airport Authority; to provide penalties for the violation of such rules and regulations; provided said rules and regulations and penalties be not in conflict with the laws of the State of North Carolina, and the rules and regulations of the Federal Aviation Administration;

(6) to sell, or otherwise dispose of, any property, real or personal, belonging to the Airport Authority, but no sale of real property shall be made without the approval of the Board of County Commissioners of Guilford County;

(7) to purchase such insurance as the Airport Authority shall deem necessary;

(8) to authorize, deny or withdraw the right of any person, firm or corporation to construct, operate or maintain any airport or landing field within Guilford County. Said Airport Authority is further authorized and fully empowered to maintain and operate any airport or landing field jointly with any adjoining county or counties or jointly with other airport authorities operating under authorization from one or more adjoining counties of the municipalities therein;

(9) to deposit or invest and reinvest any of its funds as provided by the Local Government Finance Act, as it may be amended from time to time, for the deposit or investment of unit funds;

(10) to purchase any of its outstanding bonds or notes;

(11) to operate, own, lease, control, regulate, or grant to others the right to operate on any airport premises, restaurants, snack bars and vending machines, food and beverage dispensing outlets, rental car services, catering services, novelty shops, insurance sales, advertising media, merchandising outlets, motels, hotels, barber shops, automobile parking and storage facilities, automobile service stations, garage service facilities, motion picture shows, personal service establishments, and all other types of facilities as may be directly or indirectly related to the maintenance and furnishing to the public of a complete air terminal installation;

(12) to possess the same exemptions in respect to payment of taxes and license fees as provided for municipal corporations by the laws of the State of North Carolina.

Section (e). The Airport Authority is hereby declared to be a "municipality" within the meaning of the Local Government Revenue Bond Act having the power granted to municipalities therein.

Section (f). The Airport Authority is hereby authorized and empowered to acquire from the county of Guilford, the cities of Greensboro and High Point, by agreement therewith, and such county and cities are hereby authorized and empowered to grant and convey, either by gift or for such consideration as it may be deemed wise, any real or personal property which it now owns or may hereafter be acquired, and which may be necessary for the construction, operation, and maintenance of any airport or facilities of same located in the county of Guilford.

Section (g). Any lands acquired, owned, controlled or occupied by the said Airport Authority shall, and are hereby declared to be acquired, owned, controlled and occupied for a public purpose.

Section (h). Private property needed by said Airport Authority for any airport, landing field, or facilities of same may be acquired by gift or devise, or may be acquired by private purchase or by the exercise of the power of eminent domain by the Airport Authority, pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 40 of the General Statutes of North Carolina, as amended. Avigation easements needed by the Airport Authority for any airport, landing field or facilities of same may likewise be acquired by gift, devise, or private purchase or by the exercise of the power of eminent domain by said Authority, pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 40 of the General Statutes of North Carolina.

Section (i). The said Airport Authority shall make an annual report to the Guilford County Commissioners, setting forth in detail the operations and transactions conducted by it pursuant to this act. The said Airport Authority shall be regarded as the corporate instrumentality and agent for the County of Guilford for the purpose of developing airport facilities in the County of Guilford, but it shall have no power to pledge the credit of the County of Guilford, or any subdivision thereof, or to impose any obligation upon the County of Guilford or any subdivision thereof, except and when such power is expressly granted by statute.

Section (j). All rights and powers given to the counties or municipalities by the statutes of North Carolina, which may now be in effect or be enacted in the future relating to the development, regulation and control of municipal airports and the regulations of aircraft, are hereby vested in the said Airport Authority, and the County of Guilford may delegate its powers under the said acts to the Authority and the Authority shall have concurrent right with the County of Guilford to control, regulate and provide for the development of aviation in the County of Guilford.

Section (k). The said Airport Authority is hereby authorized to employ such agents, engineers and attorneys and other persons whose services may be deemed by the Airport Authority to be necessary or useful in carrying out the provisions of this act. Members of the said Airport Authority shall not be personally liable, in any manner, for their acts as members of the Airport Authority, except for misfeasance of malfeasance.

Sec. 4. To the extent that said Chapter 501 may have been effective in repealing said Chapter 98, if it did so, said Chapter 98 as amended by Chapter 601 of the 1943 Session Laws, Chapter 137 of the 1945 Session Laws, Chapter 1198 of the 1957 Session Laws and Chapter 793 of the 1969 Session Laws and as further amended by the provisions of The Local Government Revenue Bond Act, the same being Article 5 of Chapter 159 of the General Statutes of North Carolina, is hereby re-enacted, ratified, validated and confirmed in all respects as if said Chapter 501 had not repealed said Chapter 98, and the continued operation of the Airport by, and the continued existence of, the Authority are hereby ratified, validated and confirmed in all respects, in each case.

Sec. 5. To the extent said Chapter 501 may have rendered invalid any acts of the Authority otherwise lawful, if it did so, all actions taken by the Authority since the enactment of said Chapter 501, to the extent that such actions would have been lawfully authorized as if said Chapter 501 had not been enacted, are hereby ratified, validated and confirmed in all respects.

Sec. 6. The following individuals are now serving as members of the Authority, having been appointed by the governing bodies of the Cities of Greensboro and High Point and the County of Guilford, for terms identical with the terms hereinafter established and such individuals are hereby appointed members of the Authority for the terms, and are deemed to have been appointed by the governing bodies of the Cities of Greensboro and High Point and the County of Guilford, hereinafter set forth:

City of Greensboro: Hermon F. Fox for a term ending April 20, 1982.

City of High Point: Wray M. Amos for a term ending April 20, 1982.

County of Guilford: Stanley Frank, William S. Jones and Clarence C. Keever for terms ending April 20, 1982, April 20, 1981 and April 20, 1983, respectively.

Sec. 7. If any one or more sections, clauses, sentences or parts of this act shall be adjudged invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remaining provisions thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the specific provisions held invalid, and the inapplicability or invalidity of any section, clause, sentence or part of this act in any one or more instances or circumstances shall not be taken to affect or prejudice in any way its applicability or validity in any other instance.

Sec. 8. This act shall be in full force and effect from and after its ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 6th day of June, 1980.