CHAPTER 360
TOWNSHIP HALLS

Referred to in §331.512

  
     
360.1  Election.
  1.  The trustees, on a petition of a majority of the resident freeholders of any civil township, shall request the county commissioner of elections to submit the question of building or acquiring by purchase, or acquiring by a lease with purchase option, a public hall to the electors thereof. The county commissioner shall conduct the election pursuant to the applicable provisions of chapters 39 through 53 and certify the result to the trustees.
  2.  The form of the proposition shall be:
  Shall the proposition to levy a tax of ............ cents per thousand dollars of assessed value for the erection of a public hall be adopted?
  3.  Notice of the election shall be given as provided by chapter 49.
[C97, §567; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §5574; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §360.1]
2011 Acts, ch 25, §34; 2021 Acts, ch 80, §234
Subsection 1 amended

     
360.2  Tax.
  If a majority of the votes cast are in favor of the tax, the trustees shall certify such fact to the board of supervisors, and they shall thereupon levy a tax not to exceed the rate voted and not to exceed twenty and one-fourth cents per thousand dollars of assessed value each year for a period not exceeding five years on the taxable property of the township, except that such five-year limitation shall not apply in case of a public hall acquired by a lease with a purchase option. When such tax is collected by the treasurer, it shall be paid to the township clerk; but said clerk shall not receive to exceed one percent for handling said money.
[C97, §568; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §5575; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §360.2]

  
     
360.3  Transfer of funds.
  When there are funds under the control of a township clerk, raised under this chapter which are not desired for the purposes for which they were raised, the trustees may, by majority vote, order that the full amount of the funds in the account established for that purpose be transferred to the general fund of a school district or districts pro rata in which the funds were raised. The transfer of funds shall be made by the township clerk upon order of the trustees, and the clerk shall dissolve the account from which the transfer is made.
[S13, §592-b; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §5576; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §360.3]
83 Acts, ch 185, §33, 62; 95 Acts, ch 67, §53; 2016 Acts, ch 1015, §1

     
360.4  Location.
  Any public hall built under the provisions of this chapter shall be located by the township trustees so as to accommodate the greatest number of the resident taxpayers, and for such purpose the trustees may purchase land not to exceed in value five hundred dollars. They shall also have the power to join with the city authorities of any city within their borders and build and equip said building as a public hall or as a memorial building as provided in section 37.21 under such terms and conditions as may be mutually agreed upon.
[C97, §569; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §5577; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §360.4]
Referred to in §360.6

     
360.5  Construction.
  The township trustees or in case of joint ownership, in conjunction with the city authorities shall have charge of the building of such hall, shall receive bids, and shall let the building of the same to the lowest responsible bidder, and the township clerk shall pay out of the funds collected, only on the order of the trustees of said township for the township’s share of the cost thereof.
[C97, §570; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §5578; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §360.5]

     
360.6  Custodian.
  The township clerk, under the direction of the trustees, shall be the custodian of the building, and the use thereof may be permitted by the township trustees to citizens of the township for any lawful purpose; and, for the purposes of this chapter, the township clerk is hereby clothed with all the powers and duties of a constable of the township, to maintain order within and about the premises, protect the property, and enforce orders of the township trustees with respect thereto. In case of joint ownership by the township and city, the duties herein enumerated shall devolve jointly upon the township trustees and the city authorities or they may purchase a building already built with the same limitations as in said section 360.4. A copy of this section shall be at all times kept posted in a conspicuous place in said hall.
[C97, §571; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §5579; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §360.6]

     
360.7  Bond.
  When a tax is voted as provided in this chapter, the township clerk shall, before drawing any of said tax from the treasury of the county, execute a bond, with penalty double the amount of said tax, which bond shall be approved by the board of supervisors.
[C97, §572; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §5580; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §360.7]

     
360.8  Tax for repairs.
  The trustees of any township where such building has been erected or acquired by purchase, lease with purchase option, or by gift are hereby authorized to certify to the board of supervisors that a tax of not exceeding in any one year, thirteen and one-half cents per thousand dollars of assessed value, on the taxable property of the township, should be levied, to be used in keeping such building in repair, to furnish same with necessary furniture, and provide for the care thereof. Provided, that in counties with a population of seventeen thousand to seventeen thousand two hundred fifty, census 1960, where such buildings are of brick construction with at least one hundred thousand cubic feet of space, such tax may be twenty-seven cents per thousand dollars of assessed value on the taxable property. When such certificate is filed in the auditor’s office, the board of supervisors shall levy such tax.
[C97, §573; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, §5581; C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §360.8]

     
360.9  Reversion of real estate — payment.
  1.  a.  Any real estate, including improvements thereon, situated wholly outside of a city, owned by a township and heretofore used for township purposes and which is no longer necessary for township purposes, shall revert to the present owner of the tract from which the same was taken, provided that said owner of the tract last aforesaid shall, within the time hereinafter prescribed, pay the value thereof to the township clerk. In the event the township trustees and said owner of the tract from which such real property was taken do not agree as to the value of such property and improvements thereon, the township clerk shall, on written application of either party, appoint three disinterested residents of the township to appraise such property and improvements thereon.
  b.  The township clerk shall give notice to said trustees and said owner of the time and place of making such appraisement, which notice shall be served in the same manner and for the same time as for the commencement of action in the district court. Such appraisers shall inspect the real estate and improvements and, at the time and place designated in the notice, appraise the same in writing, which appraisement, after being duly verified, shall be filed with the township clerk.
  c.  If the present owner of the tract from which said site was taken fails to pay the amount of such appraisement to such township within twenty days after the filing of same with the township clerk, the township trustees may sell said site, including any improvements thereon, to any person at the appraised value, or may sell the same at public auction for the best bid.
  2.  Any real estate, including improvements thereon, situated within a city, owned by a township and heretofore used for township purposes and which is no longer necessary for township purposes, may be sold by the township trustees at public auction for the best bid.
  3.  The township trustees in the case of joint ownership, in conjunction with any city authorities, shall not sell such real estate including improvements thereon unless the city authorities concur in such sale. The proceeds of such sale of jointly owned real estate including improvements located thereon shall be prorated between the township and the city on the basis of their respective contribution to the acquisition and maintenance of such property.
  4.  a.  Sales at public auction contemplated herein shall be made only after the township trustees advertise for bids for such property. Such advertisement shall definitely describe said property and be published by at least one insertion each week for two consecutive weeks in some newspaper having general circulation in the township.
  b.  The township trustee shall not, prior to two weeks after the said second publication, nor later than six months after said second publication, accept any bid. The township trustees may accept only the best bid received prior to acceptance. The township trustees may decline to sell if all the bids received are deemed inadequate.
  5.  Subject to the right of reversion to the present owner as provided in this section, the township trustees may sell, lease, exchange, give, or grant and accept any interest in real property to, with, or from any county, municipal corporation, or school district if the real property is within the jurisdiction of both the grantor and grantee and the advertising and public auction requirements of this section shall not apply to any such transaction between the aforesaid local units of government.
[C71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §360.9]
2010 Acts, ch 1061, §147; 2011 Acts, ch 34, §89