§ 1230-i. Agreements among the water board, the city, municipalities
and the authority for the provision of projects. 1. The authority, the
water board, the city, any municipality and any other person may enter
into agreements for the purpose of providing for the construction and
financing of a project.
2. Any such agreements: (a) shall describe in sufficient detail for
reasonable identification the particular project or groups of projects
to be financed in whole or in part by the authority, (b) shall describe
the plan for the financing of the cost of the construction of such
project, including the amount, if any, to be provided by the water board
and the source or sources thereof, (c) shall set forth the method by
which and by whom and the terms and conditions upon which moneys
provided by the authority shall be disbursed, (d) may require, in the
discretion of the authority, the payment to the authority of the
proceeds of any state and federal grants available to the water board,
(e) shall provide for the establishment of user fees, rates and other
charges and the charging and collection thereof by the water board for
the use of, or services furnished, rendered or made available by such
project such as to provide that the water board receive revenues at
least sufficient, together with other revenues of the water board, if
any, to meet the requirements of this title, (f) may provide for the
transfer by the city, any state agency, or by any municipality to the
water board pursuant to this title of ownership of any project, (g) may
provide for the construction and completion of such project by the city,
any municipality or the water board and for the management, operation,
maintenance and repair thereof, as an integrated part of the system of
which such project forms a part, subject to such terms and conditions,
not inconsistent with this title, which may be in the public interest
and necessary or desirable properly and adequately to secure the holders
of bonds of the authority, (h) shall provide for the discontinuance or
disconnection of the supply of water for nonpayment of fees, rates or
other charges therefor imposed by the water board, provided such
discontinuance or disconnection of any supply of water shall not be
carried out except in the manner and upon the notice as is required of a
waterworks corporation pursuant to the public service law, and (i)
shall, in the discretion of the authority, require reports concerning
the project from the water board to the authority and any municipality.
3. If the city executes an agreement pursuant to this section,
relating to the financing of projects by revenue bonds, it shall have
and shall be deemed to have annulled its power to levy user fees, rents
and other charges on participating properties or customers for the cost
of financing, operating and maintaining such projects under its
jurisdiction until all bonds of the authority shall have been paid or
discharged in accordance with the agreement and the resolution of the
authority authorizing such bonds. If the city has outstanding general
obligation bonds issued for acquiring or constructing system facilities,
whether the bonds are payable from revenues, special assessments, or
taxes, it may authorize the authority pursuant to the agreement to issue
its revenue bonds under this title for the purpose of retiring the
outstanding bonds.
4. No such agreement shall be executed until the water board shall
have held a public hearing at which users of the project shall have had
opportunity to be heard concerning the proposed provisions thereof.
Notice of such hearing shall be published not less than ten nor more
than twenty days in advance in a newspaper or newspapers having a
general circulation in the service area as designated by the water
board.
5. Such agreement shall be effective upon the issuance by the
authority of bonds to finance the cost of constructing projects of the
city, any municipality or the water board.
6. Any such agreement may be amended, revised or extended by
supplemental agreements authorized and executed in the same manner as
the original agreement, provided that any such supplemental agreement
shall not be inconsistent with the provisions of this title.
7. (a) Following the execution of the initial agreement by and between
the authority, the water board, the city, any state agency and any
municipality pursuant to this section, the secretary of the water board
shall, and following the execution of any subsequent agreement by and
between the authority, the water board, any state agency, and any
municipality pursuant to this section, publish a notice in substantially
the following form:
"Notice is hereby given that (here insert the parties to the
agreement) (has) (have) on the day of entered
into an agreement with the Niagara Falls Public Water Authority in
relation to the construction and financing of (here insert a brief
description of the project or facility to which such agreement
relates) pursuant to the Niagara Falls Public Water Authority act
for the purpose of placing its facilities on an independent basis,
imposing fees and rates on system users, which, together with
other revenues available for such purposes, if any, are sufficient
to pay to the authority debt service on bonds issued by the
authority pursuant to the agreement and for management, operation,
repair and maintenance of the facility (title to which is
transferred to the water board pursuant to the agreement). Such
agreement in general terms provides (here insert a brief summary
of the substantive provisions of such agreement). A copy of the
complete agreement is on file for public inspection in the office
of the secretary of the water board where the same may be examined
by any interested person during regular business hours. The
validity of the agreement may be hereafter contested only upon the
ground or grounds that: (i) such agreement violates, or the
performance of any provision thereof by any party thereto would
violate, the provisions of the state constitution or (ii) the
provisions of law which should have been complied with, in
relation to the authorization and execution thereof were not
substantially complied with, and an action, suit or proceeding is
commenced within sixty days after the date of this notice."
(b) The publication authorized by this subdivision shall be in a
newspaper or newspapers having a general circulation in the service area
as designated by the water board.
(c) After the expiration of the sixty day period set forth in such
notice, the validity of such agreement shall be conclusively presumed
and the validity thereof shall not thereafter be questioned by either a
party plaintiff or a party defendant and no court shall have
jurisdiction in any action, suit or proceeding contesting such validity.
(d) Neither any error nor omission in the notice of publication
provided for in this subdivision shall affect or impair the validity of
an agreement executed pursuant to this section so long as the notice
substantially conforms to the provisions of this section.