Commissioners to qualify.

Organization.

Salary of secretary.

Quorum.

without leave of absence from said board, shall by said board be declared vacant; and they shall proceed to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term, as hereinbefore provided.

SEC. 3. The said board of park commissioners shall within ten days after appointment take oath, before some person authorized to administer oaths, to faithfully and impartially perform the duties of their offices to the best of their ability, and shall annually thereafter, on the first Monday in May, choose one of their number to be president of the board and another as vice-president; and the said board shall elect a secretary who in the discretion of the board may be one of their own number, at a salary not exceeding three hundred dollars per annum; but the said salary and all other expenses of the commission shall be paid out of the annual appropriations. At all meetings, except such as are especially called for the appointment of a commissioner, three shall constiRules and by-laws. tute a quorum for the transaction of business. The said board of park commissioners shall have full and exclusive power to make rules and by-laws for the orderly transaction of their business. The board shall keep an accurate record of books and accounts and shall annually transmit to the board of aldermen on the first Monday in May a full and detailed report and statement of all its acts and doings, together with a complete and itemized account of all receipts and disbursements. The books of account and record of the board shall at all times be open to the inspection of the mayor and the board of aldermen, subject to an annual audit by the board of audit and finance. It shall be the duty of the mayor to assign a suitable and convenient office in the City Hall at Wilmington to the use of the board of park commissioners with proper vault or safe for the protection of their books and papers. Said board shall have power to appoint or employ such superintendents, engineers, architects, guards and other officers and employees as may be necessary, and shall prescribe and define their respective duties, powers and authorities, and shall fix and regulate the compensation to be paid to the several persons so employed.

Records. Annual statements.

Books open for inspection.

Office to be assigned.

Officers and employees.

General powers of board.

Right to acquire property to be held by city.

To improve and adorn property.

SEC. 4. The board constituted as aforesaid shall have the care, management and control of all parks, grounds and plazas to be established and to be used for park purposes, all boulevards, connecting parks and structures thereon, and park-ways thereon which may hereafter be owned by or in the control of the city of Wilmington within or without the corporate limits of the city and may give proper designating names thereto. The board shall have power to acquire and the city of Wilmington to hold property, whether within or without the corporate limits of said city, for the purpose of establishing public parks and public squares, by condemnation, purchase or lease of the same; to accept conveyances thereof; to receive gifts, donations, or devises of land or other property for park purposes; to lay out and to improve with

walks, drives and roads; to build necessary culverts and bridges:
to drain, plant and otherwise at their discretion to improve and
adorn the parks and other property thus held or acquired by said
board; to erect such buildings as shall be needed for the purposes
of administration or for the use, protection and refreshment of the
public. The said board shall have power to make and alter from Further general
time to time all needful rules and regulations for the maintenance powers.
of order, safety and décency in said parks, both within and without
the limits of the city, and to affix penalties for disobediences
thereto; which rules and regulations shall have the force of ordi-
nances of the city of Wilmington, provided that no such rule or
regulation shall be of any effect unless it shall have been first
approved by the board of aldermen. For the purpose of enforcing Parks and property
under police juris-
such rules and regulations, all such parks and property, whether diction.
within or without the limits of said city, are hereby placed under
the police jurisdiction of the city of Wilmington; and complaints
for the violation of such regulations may be made by the city
attorney to the mayor's court of said city. Any member of the Arrests without
police department or any member of the commission may arrest,
without warrant, in any such parks or places. whether within or
without the limits of the city of Wilmington, any person who has
broken any park rule or committed any other offense in said park;
and the mayor's court of Wilmington shall have jurisdiction of all Jurisdiction of
mayor's court.
violations of the park rules or ordinances committed within the
limits of said parks.

warrant.

SEC. 5. The said board of commissioners shall have sole power Sewer, gas and water pipes and to determine the places in said parks and park-ways, and in other electric conduits. property under their control, where sewer, gas and water-pipes and electric conduits shall be laid; and no trench for these purposes shall be opened until the commissioners shall have designated the location of the same and given permission in writing. No Wires and posts. telegraph, telephone or electric light wires, or other wires, or posts or supports therefor shall be erected in, upon, through, or over said parks, plazas or park-ways without the consent in writing of said board, who shall designate the place and the manner of erecting and maintaining the same, to be altered at such time and in such manner and under such conditions as the said board may deem best. And the said board of commissioners is hereby em- Removal of wires powered to cause the removal of all telegraph, telephone, electric and posts. light wires, or other wires, or posts or supports therefor now being

in, upon, through or over any park, plaza or public square.

SEC. 6. For the purpose of providing necessary funds for the Expense declared purchase or improvement of lands for park property, which is necessary. hereby declared to be a necessary expense of the said city, and for such other purposes as are herein provided for, the city of Wil- City to borrow mington, through its mayor, the board of audit and finance concurring, is hereby authorized and empowered to borrow by note

money.

Amount.

of note.

Description of bonds.

Record of bonds.

duly executed, a sum not exceeding forty thousand dollars ($40,000), or at the option of the mayor, the board of audit and finance concurring, the city of Wilmington, through its mayor, is Bond issue in lieu hereby authorized and empowered to issue bonds to an amount not exceeding forty thousand dollars ($40,000), of such denomination and of such proportion as the Mayor of the City of Wilmington may deem advisable, bearing interest from the date thereof at a rate not exceeding five per centum per annum, with interest coupons attached payable semi-annually and at such times and at such place or places as may be deemed advisable by the said mayor. A complete record of all bonds to be kept by the board of audit and finance; said bonds to be of such form and term and transferable in such way, and the principal thereof payable or redeemable at such time or times not exceeding ten years from the date thereof and at such place or places as the mayor may determine, the proceeds of the sale of which shall be exclusively applied under the direction and at the discretion of the board of park commissioners to the acquisition, laying out and improvement of land for public parks, park-ways, public grounds, plazas and boulevards; and said proceeds shall be kept by the city treasurer as a special fund to be expended for the aforementioned purposes only by warrant signed by the president of the park commission and countersigned by the chairman of the board of audit and finance.

Specific appropriation of proceeds.

Special fund.

Bonds not to be

used for other

purpose.

Misdemeanor.

Fine.
Penalty.

SEC. 7. That none of the bonds authorized by this act shall be sold below par, nor disposed of either by sale, exchange, hypothecation or otherwise for a less price than their par value, nor shall said bonds or their proceeds be used for any other purpose than for park purposes; and any officer of the said city of Wilmington or any member of the park commission violating, aiding or abetting any person in the violation of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall be fined five hundred dollars ($500) and imprisoned six months, and shall moreover be liable to the said city in a sum double the amount lost to the city by such violation. That the bonds authorized to be issued by this act and their coupons shall not be subject to taxation. Coupons Coupons receivable shall be receivable in payment of city taxes or other city dues for city taxes. for any fiscal year in which such coupons become due or thereafter, and if the holder of any of said bonds or coupons shall fail to present the same for payment at the time or times and at the place or places therein named he shall not be entitled to any interest thereon for the time they have been outstanding after maturity.

Bonds exempt from taxation.

Appropriation for interest on bonds.

SEC. 8. For the purpose of providing for the payment of the interest accruing on, and the principal at maturity of the loan or the bonds authorized by section six of this act, as the case may be, the board of aldermen of said city and the board of audit and finance shall annually, at the time of levying city taxes, specify

༢།

and appropriate out of the general fund of the city to be levied and collected for the ensuing year such a proportionate amount of the indebtedness incurred by virtue of this act as may be necessary to pay the annual interest accruing and also to pay off and discharge the principal at maturity; the remainder of said appropriation, after the payment of the annual interest, shall be placed with the sinking fund of the city for the purpose herein mentioned.

ers to submit estimates.

SEC. 9. For the purpose of providing necessary funds for the Park commissioncare, improvement and maintenance of park property and to meet the expenses of the board the said board of park commissioners shall, at the annual meeting of said board, estimate the amount of money necessary for such purposes for the fiscal year then beginning, which said estimate shall be communicated to the board of aldermen and the amount so estimated, or any part thereof, shall be included in the appropriation of the general fund Appropriation. of the city of Wilmington to be levied and collected for the ensuing year: Provided, the same is adopted and approved by a major- Proviso: approval ity vote of the board of aldermen and concurred in by the board of audit and finance. This amount shall be deemed, thereupon, Appropriation set appropriated and set apart for the maintenance, preservation and improvement of said parks and grounds; and shall be paid out by the city treasurer upon warrants signed by the president of the Warrants. board of park commissioners and countersigned by the chairman

of the board of audit and finance.

of estimate.

apart.

defined.

SEC. 10. The said board of park commissioners shall have power Parks connected. to connect any public park under its control with any other park over which it has jurisdiction by a boulevard or park-way; and whenever in their judgment necessary they may designate as such any existing highway or parts, which shall thereupon be deemed a part of said park-way; but the same shall remain under the control of the city authorities now having jurisdiction thereof. SEC. 11. The term "park property" shall include all parks, Park property squares and areas of land within the management of said board, and all buildings, structures, improvements, seats, benches, fountains, boats, floats, walks, drives, roads, trees, plants, herbs, flowers and other things thereon and within the enclosures of the same; and all shade trees on parks, squares, or plazas or thoroughfares, resting places, watering stations, play-grounds, parade grounds, or the like; and all connecting park-ways and roads or drives between parks; and all avenues, roads, ways, drives, walks, with all trees, shrubbery, vines, flowers and ornaments of any description within said parks, squares or plazas; and all birds, animals or curiosities or objects of interest or instruction, and all tools and implements placed in or on any of such enclosures, ways, park-ways, roads or places, and said included terms shall be liberally construed.

Commissioners not to be interested in contracts.

Proceedings by condemnation if commissioners interested.

Discretion of board.

and conditions.

SEC. 12. No member of said board of park commissioners shall be concerned in any contract with the said board or any of its departments or institutions, either as contractor, sub-contractor, bondsman or party directly or indirectly interested. If any member of the board be the owner of or interested in any property necessary in the opinion of a majority of the other members of the board to be taken for park purposes, then proceedings shall be by condemnation, and such facts of ownership and interest shall be fully set forth in the petition.

SEC. 13. The board shall not be compelled to accept any gifts or offer of land which, in its judgment, is unsuited to park purposes or the improvement of which would entail an injudicious Grants upon trusts outlay. Real and personal property may be granted, bequeathed, devised or conveyed to the said city for the purpose of the improvement or ornamentation of said parks or approaches, or for the establishment or maintenance therein of museums, zoological o other gardens, collections of natural history, observatories, monuments, statues, fountains or other works of art upon such trusts and conditions as may be prescribed by the grantors or devisors thereof and accepted by the board of aldermen of said city. All property so devised, granted, bequeathed, or conveyed, and the rents, issues, profits and income thereof, shall be subject to the exclusive management, direction and control of the said board of park commissioners.

Proceedings for condemnation of

land.

SEC. 14. The said park commission, on behalf of the city of Wilmington, shall have power to take, by condemnation, land for park or park-way purposes; and if the said park commission cannot, for any cause, agree with the owner or owners of any land which they shall decide to take for public park purposes. whether within or without the limits of the city of Wilmington, as to the compensation to be paid therefor, the damages which will accrue to such owner or owners by such purchase, allowance being made for the benefit accruing to portions of such property not condemned, and the compensation to be paid for such lands in view thereof shall be estimated and determined by three appraisers, one to be appointed by the board of aldermen, one by the party or parties owning the property and the third to be selected by the two so appointed, and in the event of the two so appointed failing to agree, the third shall be selected by the Judge of the Superior Court of New Hanover County, on application of said park commissioners, after reasonable notice of such application shall have been given to such owner or owners. Said appraisers shall notify all parties in interest of the time and place of hearing, and shall make return in writing of their appraised award to the clerk of the superior court, who shall record the same; and the amount of such award shall be paid by said park commission within sixty days after the filing of such award, or,