Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Section 1 of chapter 533 of the acts of 1991 is hereby amended by inserting after the word "Club", in line 2, the following words:- and Recreation.

SECTION 2. Said chapter 533 is hereby further amended by striking out section 3 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 3. The Authority shall consist of seven members to be appointed by the board of selectmen of the town of Groton for terms of three years. Each member shall be a resident of said town. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter two hundred and sixty-eight A, employees of the town of Groton may be appointed as and perform the duties of members of the Authority. A member may be removed by the board of selectmen for misfeasance, malfeasance or willful neglect of duty but only after reasonable notice.

SECTION 3. Section 4 of said chapter 533 is hereby amended by striking out the second and third sentences and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- The town treasurer shall serve as the treasurer of the Authority, four members of the Authority shall constitute a quorum and an affirmative vote of four members shall be necessary for any action taken by the Authority, except that a smaller number may adjourn any meeting to a specified time and place.

SECTION 4. Clause (h) of section 5 of said chapter 533 is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- Neither the general manager nor any other employee of the Authority shall be deemed to be employees of the town of Groton.

SECTION 5. Said chapter 533 is hereby further amended by striking out section 6 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 6. The Authority and all its personal property shall be exempt from taxation and from betterments and special assessments and the Authority shall not be required to pay any tax, excise or assessment to or for the commonwealth or any of its political subdivisions.

Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter thirty B of the General Laws, the town of Groton is hereby authorized to lease to the Authority for a term not to exceed the Authority's then current period of existence, the recreational facilities of the Groton Country Club owned by said town including the land shown as parcel 271 of Groton assessors map O.

SECTION 6. The first paragraph of section 8 of said chapter 533 is hereby amended by striking out the second sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- An examination of the financial records of the Authority shall be conducted and shall consist of the submission of semiannual financial statements to the board of selectmen and an annual audit, which shall be performed by the person or firm auditing the financial records of the town of Groton.

SECTION 7. Said section 8 of said chapter 533 is hereby further amended by striking out the ninth paragraph.

SECTION 8. Said chapter 533 is hereby further amended by striking out section 9 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 9. The town of Groton may, by vote of the town meeting, take such action as is reasonable or necessary to implement the provisions of this act.

SECTION 9. Said chapter 533 is hereby further amended by striking out section 10 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 10. The provisions of this act shall expire three years from the effective date thereof unless such provisions are reaccepted by a majority vote at a special or annual town meeting. Reacceptance by the town must thereafter occur every three years for the Authority to continue to be in existence. If said town does not reaccept the provisions of this act, the Authority shall dissolve at the end of the fiscal year in which said three-year period expires and all assets of the Authority shall be assets of the town of Groton.

SECTION 10. Upon the effective date of this act, the board of selectmen shall appoint two members to the Authority for terms not to exceed three years arranged so that as nearly as possible, an equal number of members' terms shall expire each year. The successors of such two members to be appointed shall be appointed for three-year terms.

SECTION 11. Upon the effective date of this act, (1) the recreation director and the assistant to the recreation director of the town of Groton shall become employees of the Authority and their employment with said town shall terminate; and (2) all monies deposited in the town of Groton recreation revolving fund and any balance remaining in the fiscal year nineteen hundred and ninety-six town of Groton recreation commission budget shall be transferred to the Authority.

Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, the Authority shall, upon the effective date of this act, be authorized to operate and administer all programs, facilities and equipment heretofore operated and administered by the town of Groton recreation commission and shall have all the powers of a recreation commission under the provisions of section fourteen of chapter forty-five of the General Laws.

SECTION 12. All actions taken by the town of Groton at a special town meeting held on December fifth, nineteen hundred and ninety-four and at the nineteen hundred and ninety-five annual town meeting relative to the reacceptance of the provisions of chapter five hundred and thirty-three of the acts of nineteen hundred and ninety-one and all actions of the Groton Country Club and Recreation Authority taken on or after December fifth, nineteen hundred and ninety-four pursuant to and in accordance with the provisions of said chapter five hundred and thirty-three are hereby ratified, validated and confirmed.

SECTION 13. This act shall take effect upon its passage.