The Town of Mount Airy shall have the power:
A.
To construct, operate and maintain a water system
and water plant.
B.
To construct, operate and maintain a sanitary sewerage
system, a sewage treatment plan and stormwater sewers.
C.
To construct, operate and maintain an electric light
and power plant.
D.
To construct, maintain, reconstruct, enlarge, alter,
repair, improve, or dispose of all parts, installations and structures
of the above systems and plants.
E.
To have surveys, plans, specifications and estimates
made for any of the above plants or systems or parts thereof or the
extension thereof.
F.
To do all things it deems necessary for the efficient
operation and maintenance of the above plants and systems.
The Town of Mount Airy shall have the power
to acquire by gift, purchase, lease or condemnation any land, improvements,
rights-of-way, sources of water or other property of any kind or interest
therein or franchise connected therewith within Carroll County or
Frederick County, whether used for public, quasi-public or private
purposes, either in fee or as an easement, for the purpose of establishing,
operating, extending or maintaining a water system, water plant, sanitary
sewerage system, sewage treatment plant, stormwater sewers, or any
other public improvement. Any condemnation proceedings under this
section shall be carried on in accordance with the provisions of § C11-2
of this Charter, and the activities mentioned in this section shall
be considered as public improvements within the meaning of § C11-2
of this Charter.
Any public service corporation, company or individual,
before beginning any construction of or placing or of changing the
location of any main, conduit, pipe or other structure in the public
ways of the Town, shall submit plans to the Mayor and obtain his written
approval. Any public service corporation, company, or individual violating
the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. If
any unauthorized main, conduit, pipe or other structure interferes
with the operation of the water, sewerage or stormwater systems, the
Mayor may order it removed.
All individuals, firms or corporations having mains, pipes, conduits, or other structures in, on, or over any public way in Carroll County or Frederick County which impede the establishment, construction, or operation of any Town sewer or water main shall, upon reasonable notice, remove or adjust the obstructions at their own expense to the satisfaction of the Town of Mount Airy. If the use of the powers in this section shall involve a taking, in the constitutional sense, of the franchise or right in the exercise of which the obstruction had its origin, the Town of Mount Airy shall have the power to condemn an easement in the right or franchise. If necessary to carry out the provisions of this section, the Town may use its condemnation powers provided in § C11-2. Any violation of the provisions of this section shall be a misdemeanor.
The Town of Mount Airy may enter upon or do
construction in any county public way for the purpose of installing
or repairing any equipment or doing any other things necessary to
establish, operate and maintain the water system, sanitary sewerage
system, sewage treatment plant or stormwater sewers provided for in
this Charter. The Town need not obtain any permit or pay any charge
for these operations, but it must notify the county of its intent
to enter on the public way and must leave the public way in a condition
not inferior to that existing before. When the Town desires to enter
on any state public way for the purposes aforesaid, it must first
comply with the provisions of applicable state law.
The Town of Mount Airy shall provide a connection
with water and sanitary sewer mains for all property abutting on any
public way in which a sanitary sewer or water main is laid. When any
water main or sanitary sewer is declared ready for operation by the
Town of Mount Airy, all abutting property owners after reasonable
notice shall connect all fixtures with the water or sewer main. The
Town may require that, if it considers existing fixtures unsatisfactory,
satisfactory ones be installed and may require that all cesspools,
sinkdrains and privies be abandoned and left in such a way as not
to injure public health. All wells found to be polluted or a menace
to health shall be abandoned and closed. Any violation of the provisions
of this section shall be a misdemeanor.
The Town of Mount Airy shall make a charge,
the amount to be determined by the Council, for each connection made
to the Town's water or sewer mains. This charge shall be uniform throughout
the Town, but may be changed from year to year. Arrangements for the
payment of this charge shall be made before the connection is made.
In order to prevent any leakage or waste of
water or other improper use of the Town's water system or sewage disposal
system, the Town of Mount Airy may require such changes in plumbing,
fixtures or connections as it deems necessary to prevent such waste
or improper use.
No water supply, sewerage or stormwater drainage
system, and no water mains, sewers, drains or connections therewith,
shall be constructed or operated by an person or persons, firm, corporation,
institution or community, whether upon private premises or otherwise,
without the written consent of and under rules prescribed by the Council.
All cesspools or other private methods of sewage disposal shall be
operated and maintained in such a manner that they do not and will
not be liable to affect adversely the public comfort and health. Any
cesspool or other private method of sewage disposal affecting or liable
to affect adversely the public comfort and health shall be deemed
a nuisance and may be abated by the Town. Any violation of the provisions
of this section shall be a misdemeanor.
The Town of Mount Airy shall have the power
to extend its water or sewerage systems beyond the Town limits.
Any employee or agent of the Town of Mount Airy,
while in the necessary pursuit of his official duties with regard
to the water or sewage disposal systems operated by the Town, shall
have the right of entry at all reasonable hours and after reasonable
advance notice to the owner, tenant or person in possession, upon
any private premises and into any building in the Town or in those
portions of Carroll County and Frederick County served by the Town's
water or sewage disposal systems. Any restraint or hindrance offered
to such entry by any owner, tenant or person in possession or the
agent of any of them, shall be a misdemeanor.
No person shall do anything which will discolor,
pollute or tend to pollute any water used or to be used in the Town
water supply system. Any violation of the provisions of this section
shall be a misdemeanor.
The Town of Mount Airy, if it deems it advisable,
may contract with any party or parties, inside or outside the Town,
to obtain water or to provide for the removal of sewage.
For the purpose of financing and paying for
the construction, operation, maintenance, repair, overhead and property
depreciation of the water supply system, water plant, sanitary sewerage
system, sewage treatment plant, stormwater sewers and any other improvements
provided for under the provisions of this subtitle, the Town of Mount
Airy shall have the power:
A.
To issue bonds in accordance with the provisions of
§ C6-18 of this Charter.
B.
To assess the cost of water, sewer or stormwater mains
or any part thereof on the property abutting on the water, sewer and
stormwater mains in accordance with § C10-2 of this Charter.
C.
To charge and collect such service rates, water rents,
ready-to-serve charges or other charges as may be necessary for water
supplied and for the removal of sewage. These charges are to be billed
and collected by the Mayor, and, if water bills are uncollected within
30 days, the water may be turned off. All charges shall be a lien
on the property, collectible in the same manner as Town taxes.
D.
Waiver
of charges.
[Added 6-6-2022 by Res. No. 2021-2]
(1)
The
waiver of a water bill in its entirety may be authorized by the Town
Council upon application of the property owner or occupant. A waiver
will be considered by the Town Council in open session, without disclosure
of the property address, the name or contact information of the applicant,
or amounts due for which the applicant seeks a waiver. The Town Council
may authorize a payment plan for charges where the Town Council does
not authorize a waiver of the water bill.
(2)
If
no waiver is issued and no payment plan is agreed upon, and the charges
thereafter remain unpaid, then the property in connection with the
unpaid bill shall be considered in default, and the Town may impose
a lien on the property and collect same as unpaid taxes, in accordance
with the Town Code and Town policy.
