NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1959 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 107

HOUSE BILL 286

 

 

AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 67 OF THE PUBLIC-LOCAL LAWS OF 1937 RELATING TO THE ELECTION OF COMMISSIONERS FOR THE CITY OF ROANOKE RAPIDS.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

 

Section 1. Section 7 of Chapter 53 of the Private Laws of 1931, Section 1 of Chapter 134 of the Private Laws of 1931, Chapter 186 of the Session Laws of 1947, Chapter 197 of the Session Laws of 1955, and Chapter 275 of the Session Laws of 1955 are hereby repealed.

Sec. 2. Section 5 of Chapter 67 of the Public-Local Laws of 1937 is hereby rewritten to read as follows:

"The territory comprised within the corporate limits of the City of Roanoke Rapids is hereby laid off into two wards, as follows: The East Ward shall be comprised of all territory of the said city lying on the East side of the center line of Roanoke Avenue as extended by U. S. Highway 158 and N. C. Highway 48, to the southern boundaries of the corporate limits of said city; the West Ward shall be comprised of all territory of said city lying on the West side of the center line of Roanoke Avenue as extended by U. S. Highway 158 and N. C. Highway 48 to the southern boundaries of the corporate limits of said city. For the purpose of elections the City of Roanoke Rapids shall be divided into such precincts as the board of commissioners shall create; provided, that said board of commissioners shall make the voting places and the boundaries of said precincts conform as nearly as practicable to those designated and prescribed by the general law for the election of State and county officers."

Sec. 3. Section 6 of Chapter 67 of the Public-Local Laws of 1937 is hereby amended as follows: By striking from said Section the last sentence thereof beginning with the word "The" on line 6 and ending with the word "provided" on line 8 and substituting in lieu thereof the sentence: "The mayor shall be elected from the city at large as is now by law provided, and the commissioners shall be elected as hereinafter provided."

Sec. 4. Section 6 of Chapter 67 of the Public-Local Laws of 1937 shall be amended as follows, by inserting a second paragraph which shall read as follows:

"That at the general municipal election to be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in May 1959, there shall be elected by the registered voters of the City of Roanoke Rapids a mayor and six commissioners, three of whom shall come from the East Ward and three of whom shall come from the West Ward as defined in Section 2 of this Act. The mayor and all commissioners shall be elected for a term of two years and shall be voted upon by the qualified voters of the city at large. No person shall be entitled to vote in such election unless, in addition to his qualifications as a voter in State and county elections under the general law, he has resided within the corporate limits of the City of Roanoke Rapids for four months immediately preceding said election. The officers so elected shall qualify and be inducted into office on the first Monday in June following their election and shall continue in office for their respective terms as hereinbefore provided and until their successors have been duly elected and qualified. The terms of office of the mayor and all commissioners heretofore elected for the City of Roanoke Rapids shall expire upon the election and qualification of the mayor and six commissioners elected in accordance with the provisions of this Act."

Sec. 5. Section 6 of Chapter 67 of the Public-Local Laws of 1937 shall be amended by adding a third paragraph to read as follows:

"That there shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the City of Roanoke Rapids at the 1959 general municipal election two questions:

(1)       FOR the election of five commissioners to come from and be voted upon by the City of Roanoke Rapids at large;

(2)       FOR the election of five commissioners to come from five wards, but all of whom shall be voted upon by the City of Roanoke Rapids at large.

At the general municipal election of 1961, and at each general municipal election thereafter, the City of Roanoke Rapids shall elect a mayor and five commissioners. The mayor shall come from and be elected by the city at large and the commissioners shall be elected in accordance with whichever of the above proposals is favored by a majority of the voters in the general municipal election of 1959. Should proposal number two (2) be favored by a majority of the voters, the five wards referred to therein would be described as follows:

(a)       Ward No. One shall include all of the territory within the corporate limits of the City of Roanoke Rapids lying to the West of the center line of Roanoke Avenue and to the North of the center line of Eighth Street;

(b)       Ward No. Two shall include all of the territory within the corporate limits of the City of Roanoke Rapids lying to the East of the center line of Roanoke Avenue and to the North of the center line of Eighth Street;

(c)       Ward No. Three shall include all of the territory within the corporate limits of the City of Roanoke Rapids lying to the West of the center line of Roanoke Avenue, to the South of the center line of Eighth Street and to the North of the main line of the Seaboard Airline Railway tracks;

(d)       Ward No. Four shall include all territory within the corporate limits of the City of Roanoke Rapids lying to the East of the center line of Roanoke Avenue, to the South of the center line of Eighth Street and to the North of the main line of the Seaboard Airline Railway tracks;

(e)       Ward No. Five shall include all territory within the corporate limits of the City of Roanoke Rapids lying to the South of the main line of the Seaboard Airline Railway tracks."

Sec. 6. All laws and clauses of laws in conflict with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed.

Sec. 7. This Act shall be in full force and effect from and after its ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 20th day of March, 1959.