CHAPTER 306. PARK BOARD AND PARK BONDS: MUNICIPALITIES WITH POPULATION OF MORE THAN 40,000
LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE
TITLE 10. PARKS AND OTHER RECREATIONAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES
SUBTITLE A. MUNICIPAL PARKS AND OTHER RECREATIONAL AND CULTURAL
RESOURCES
CHAPTER 306. PARK BOARD AND PARK BONDS: MUNICIPALITIES WITH
POPULATION OF MORE THAN 40,000
SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
Sec. 306.001. ELIGIBLE MUNICIPALITIES. This chapter applies
only to home-rule municipalities with a population of more than
40,000.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 306.002. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "board" means the
park board of trustees.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 306.003. CUMULATIVE EFFECT WITH CHARTER PROVISIONS. This
chapter is cumulative of home-rule charter provisions, but this
chapter takes precedence in the event of a conflict.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
SUBCHAPTER B. PARK BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Sec. 306.011. CREATION OF BOARD. The governing body of the
municipality by ordinance may create a board to be known as the
Park Board of Trustees for the purpose of acquiring, improving,
equipping, maintaining, financing, or operating parks.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 306.012. COMPOSITION; TERM. (a) The board must be
composed of nine trustees appointed by the governing body of the
municipality. One of the trustees must be a member of the
municipality's governing body.
(b) Trustees serve for staggered terms of two years. Terms
expire on the anniversary of the date of appointment, except as
provided by Subsection (d).
(c) In appointing the initial board, the governing body shall
designate five trustees to serve for terms of two years and four
trustees to serve for terms of one year.
(d) The governing body by ordinance may set a date other than
the date of appointment as the date on which trustees' terms
expire. If the board is in existence at the time the ordinance is
adopted, the governing body must implement the new expiration
date by reducing the terms of trustees to conform to the new
date. However, the expiration date may not be set on a date that
would require the governing body to reduce terms by more than 60
days. An ordinance may not be adopted under this subsection more
often than once in any five-year period.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 476, Sec. 1, eff. June 14,
1989.
Sec. 306.013. VACANCY. A vacancy on the board shall be filled
by appointment of the governing body of the municipality.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 306.014. COMPENSATION; EXPENSES. A trustee serves without
compensation, but is entitled to be reimbursed for necessary
expenses, including travel expenses, incurred in the performance
of official duties.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 306.015. BOND; OATH. (a) Within 15 days after the date of
appointment, a trustee must qualify for office by taking the
official oath and filing a good and sufficient bond with the
clerk or secretary of the municipality.
(b) The bond must be:
(1) in the amount prescribed by the governing body of the
municipality, but not more than $5,000;
(2) payable to the order of the municipality;
(3) approved by the governing body; and
(4) conditioned that the trustee will faithfully perform the
duties of trustee, including the proper handling of money that
may come into the hands of the trustee in the trustee's capacity
as a member of the board.
(c) The board shall pay the cost of the bond.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 306.016. ORGANIZATION; MEETINGS. (a) The board shall
annually elect from its membership a chairman, a vice-chairman, a
secretary, and a treasurer, except that the first chairman shall
be designated by the governing body of the municipality at the
time of appointment of the first trustees. Officers serve in that
capacity for a term of one year.
(b) The offices of secretary and treasurer may be held by the
same person.
(c) The board shall hold regular meetings at times fixed by the
board and may hold special meetings at other times as necessary.
Special meetings may be called by the chairman or by any three
trustees.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 306.017. RECORDS; AUDIT. (a) The board shall keep a
complete record of all meetings and proceedings and shall
maintain the records of the board in a secure manner. Records are
the property of the board and are subject to inspection by the
governing body of the municipality at reasonable times.
(b) The board may contract with the governing body to have the
municipality keep and maintain its records.
(c) All financial transactions and records of the board shall be
audited annually by independent auditors selected by the board.
(d) The preservation, microfilming, destruction, or other
disposition of the records of the board is subject to the
requirements of Subtitle C, Title 6, Local Government Code, and
rules adopted under that subtitle.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1248, Sec. 60, eff. Sept. 1,
1989.
Sec. 306.018. SEAL. The board shall adopt a seal, and the seal
shall be placed on each lease, deed, or other instrument usually
executed under seal. The seal may be placed on other instruments
as required by the board.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
SUBCHAPTER C. POWERS AND DUTIES
Sec. 306.031. MANAGEMENT OF PARKS AND FACILITIES. (a) The
ordinance establishing the board shall designate the parks and
facilities owned by the municipality to be placed under the
management and control of the board. The municipality may from
time to time by ordinance designate additional parks and
facilities to be under the management and control of the board.
(b) The board may acquire by gift, devise, or purchase, or
improve or enlarge:
(1) land and buildings to be used for public parks, playgrounds,
or historical museums; or
(2) land on which are located:
(A) historic buildings, sites, or landmarks of statewide
historical significance associated with historic events or
personalities;
(B) prehistoric ruins, burial grounds, or archaeological,
paleontological, or vertebrate paleontological sites; or
(C) sites including fossilized footprints, inscriptions made by
human agency, or any other archaeological, paleontological, or
historical buildings, markers, monuments, or other historical
features.
(c) Land described by Subsection (b) may be located inside or
outside the boundaries of the municipality, but must be located
inside the limits of the county in which the municipality is
located.
(d) The board shall improve, manage, operate, maintain, equip,
and finance:
(1) the parks and facilities placed by ordinance under its
management and control; and
(2) additional parks and facilities acquired by gift, but not by
the exercise of eminent domain.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 306.032. ADDITIONAL POWERS: COASTAL MUNICIPALITIES WITH
POPULATION OF LESS THAN 80,000. (a) This section applies only
to a home-rule municipality that has a population of less than
80,000 and borders on the Gulf of Mexico.
(b) In addition to other powers under this chapter, the
municipality or the board of the municipality may acquire by any
method, including by gift, devise, lease, or purchase or may
improve land or buildings, or may construct or enlarge buildings,
to be used for public parks, playgrounds, or other facilities
that serve the purpose of attracting visitors and tourists to the
municipality. The municipality or board may lease the facilities,
as lessor or lessee, on terms the municipality or board considers
appropriate. The land may be located inside or outside the
boundaries of the municipality, but must be located inside the
limits of the county in which the municipality is located.
(c) In a municipality subject to this section, the facilities
placed under the management and control of the board may include:
(1) parks;
(2) civic centers, civic center buildings, auditoriums,
exhibition halls, or coliseums;
(3) marinas or cruise ship terminal facilities;
(4) hotels or motels;
(5) parking or storage facilities for motor vehicles or other
conveyances;
(6) golf courses;
(7) trolley or trolley transportation systems; and
(8) other facilities considered advisable in connection with the
preceding facilities that serve the purpose of attracting
visitors and tourists to the municipality.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Amended by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 1, Sec. 67(a), eff. Aug. 28,
1989.
Sec. 306.033. LAND ACQUIRED IN NAME OF BOARD; SALE OF LAND. Any
interest in land acquired by lease or otherwise and used in
connection with a park under this chapter may be acquired in the
name of the board. The interest may be sold only if:
(1) the sale is made by the titleholder in compliance with the
municipal charter or in compliance with Subchapter A, Chapter
263; and
(2) contractual arrangements are made for the retirement of any
indebtedness associated with the interest and issued under this
chapter.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 306.034. GIFTS. The board may accept and receive from any
person, and may expend, gifts of money or other things of value
for the purpose of performing any function or authority conferred
on the board by this chapter.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 306.035. PUBLIC FUNDS. The board may accept and receive
from the municipality, and may expend, funds appropriated by the
municipality for the purpose of improving, equipping,
maintaining, operating, and promoting recreational and other
facilities under the board's management and control.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 306.036. DEPOSITORIES. The money belonging to or under the
control of the board shall be deposited and secured substantially
in the manner prescribed by law for municipal funds.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 306.037. ADVERTISING. The board may advertise the
municipality's recreational advantages for the purpose of
attracting visitors, tourists, residents, and other users of the
public facilities operated by the board.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 306.038. CONTRACTS; OPERATING AGREEMENTS. (a) The board
may enter into a contract, lease, or other agreement connected
with, incident to, or in any manner affecting the financing,
construction, equipping, maintaining, managing, or operating of
facilities under its management and control. The board may
execute and perform its powers and functions on land leased from
others.
(b) The board may enter into a contract, lease, or agreement
with any person relating to the management, operation, or
maintenance of any concession, facility, improvement, leasehold,
land, or property of any other nature under the management and
control of the board. Such a lease or agreement for the use of
board properties by others may not exceed a term of 40 years.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 306.039. RULES. The board may adopt and enforce reasonable
rules, including rules establishing a means of enforcing other
rules, relating to the use of parks and facilities under the
management and control of the board, including use by the public
or by lessees, concessionaires, or other persons carrying on a
business activity within the area of the parks and facilities.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 306.040. PERSONNEL. (a) The board may employ permanent or
temporary personnel as it may require, including:
(1) secretaries, stenographers, bookkeepers, accountants, and
technical experts;
(2) municipal park and recreational patrolmen and security
officers employed as special park police officers, who must be
licensed as peace officers by the Commission on Law Enforcement
Officer Standards and Education;
(3) unarmed security guards; and
(4) parking attendants.
(b) The board shall determine the qualifications, duties, and
compensation of its personnel.
(c) A special park police officer appointed and commissioned by
the board under this section may make arrests or perform any
other service or duty that may be performed by a sheriff,
constable, or other peace officer in enforcing the laws of this
state, the ordinances of the municipality, the ordinances of the
county, and the rules of the board applicable to the use of
municipal parks and facilities under the management and control
of the board.
(d) The board may employ a manager for any park or facility and
delegate to the manager full authority for the management and
operation of the park or facility, subject only to the direction
and orders of the board.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 306.041. SUITS; LEGAL SERVICES. (a) The board may sue and
be sued in its own name.
(b) The board may request from the municipal attorney the legal
services it requires. In addition or in the alternative, the
board may employ and compensate its own counsel and legal staff.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
SUBCHAPTER D. FINANCING
Sec. 306.051. REVENUE BONDS. (a) The board may issue revenue
bonds in the name of the board for the purpose of acquiring,
constructing, improving, or enlarging land, buildings,
facilities, or historically significant objects for any statutory
purpose or to further a statutory power of the board.
(b) The bonds are payable solely from, and secured by a pledge
of, the revenues of all or any designated part of the property or
facilities under the management and control of the board or other
revenues of the board including revenue from an occupancy tax on
hotel rooms or from contracts, leases, or other agreements.
(c) The bonds may be issued in one or more installments or
series by resolution of the board. Issuance of the bonds does not
require an election.
(d) The bonds may be sold at any price and bear interest at any
rate, except that the net effective interest rate may not exceed
the maximum allowed by law. The bonds shall be sold by the board
at public or private sale on the best terms obtainable.
(e) The bonds shall mature serially or otherwise not more than
40 years after the date of issuance.
(f) The bonds shall be executed by the chairman and secretary of
the board in the manner provided for the execution of bonds
issued by municipalities.
(g) The bonds shall be issued on terms and conditions in regard
to the security, manner, place, and time of payment, pledge of
designated revenue, redemption before maturity, and issuance of
additional parity or junior lien bonds as specified by the board
in the resolution authorizing issuance of the bonds.
(h) Except as provided by this chapter, Chapter 1502, Government
Code, applies to the bonds.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Amended by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1420, Sec. 8.312, eff. Sept.
1, 2001.
Sec. 306.052. BOND APPROVAL AND REGISTRATION. (a) The bonds
may not be delivered until:
(1) a transcript of the proceedings authorizing their issuance
has been submitted to the attorney general and approved by the
attorney general as to legality; and
(2) the bonds have been registered by the comptroller of public
accounts.
(b) If approved by the attorney general, the bonds are
incontestable except for fraud.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 306.053. BONDS AS NEGOTIABLE INSTRUMENTS AND AUTHORIZED
INVESTMENTS. (a) The bonds are negotiable instruments and
investment securities governed by Chapter 8, Business &
Commerce Code.
(b) The bonds are authorized investments for banks, savings
banks, trust companies, savings and loan associations, insurance
companies, fiduciaries, trustees, and guardians, and for the
sinking funds of municipalities, counties, school districts, and
other political corporations or subdivisions of the state.
(c) The bonds are eligible to secure the deposit of public funds
of the state and of municipalities, counties, school districts,
and other political corporations or subdivisions of the state,
and are sufficient security for those deposits to the extent of
their face value if accompanied by all unmatured appurtenant
interest coupons.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 306.054. REFUNDING BONDS. (a) The board may issue
refunding bonds for the purpose of refunding one or more series
or installments of outstanding original or refunding revenue
bonds of the board.
(b) The refunding bonds must be issued, approved by the attorney
general, and registered with the comptroller of public accounts
in the manner and on the terms and conditions prescribed by this
chapter for the issuance of original bonds.
(c) Refunding bonds must bear interest at rates not to exceed
that provided by this chapter for original bonds.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.
Sec. 306.055. TAX BONDS. (a) The board may not issue any bonds
payable in whole or in part from ad valorem taxes.
(b) The board may receive and expend the proceeds of bonds that
are payable from taxes and have been issued by the governing body
of the municipality for park purposes after the bonds have been
authorized at an election held in the manner required by law.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987.