§ 47. Public utilities.

Be it further enacted, that the mayor and council of the City of Kingsland shall have the power and authority to build, establish, maintain, equip, repair, extend, or enlarge a system of waterworks, sewerage, natural or manufactured gas system, electric lights (any one or all of them) in the City of Kingsland, for the purpose of supplying its inhabitants and the city and consumers generally with water, sewerage, natural or manufactured gas system, and electric lights, or any of them, and the said mayor and council shall have the power to do any and all things necessary for such purposes; to contract with any person or persons, firms, or corporations, for the purchase of land or premises to be used in connection therewith, whether within or without the city, and to contract for the purchase of easements over lands and premises to be used in connection therewith, whether the lands and premises over which easements are desired are within or without the limits of said city, and, if necessary for any or all of such purposes, to condemn the same as herein provided for. Said mayor and council, in the name of the city, shall have full power and authority to make purchase of plants, machinery, and any and all articles and things that may be necessary or advisable for the proper equipment of said plants or either of them, and for the purpose of properly repairing and maintaining the same, or for the purpose of extending, enlarging, or in any way improving said plants, or either of them; to build and erect houses, bore wells, build shapes [sic] and to furnish the same with machinery, tools, and equipment that may be necessary or expedient in the care and maintenance of said plants; and to generally have the power and authority to do any and all things necessary or expedient to the upkeep, care, maintenance, and improvement of said plants or in the extension or enlargement thereof. Said mayor and council, in the name of the city, shall have the right and authority to make contracts with the inhabitants of said city, and to consumers generally, whether residents of said city or residents without the limits thereof, for the furnishing of water, electric lights, electric power, sewerage, natural or manufactured gas system, or any of them, at such rates and under such rules and regulations as the mayor and council may provide. Said mayor and council in the name of said city, shall have the right, power, and authority to contract with any person, firm, or corporation whatever, for the furnishing of electric lights to light the streets of such municipality, or for the furnishing of electric power to said city, upon such terms, conditions, stipulations, agreements, and limitations as the mayor and council may prescribe; and the said City of Kingsland shall have the power and authority to enforce such contracts in the courts of this State, in the same manner that other contracts are enforced under the laws of Georgia, said mayor and council shall also have the right and authority to contract with persons, firms, and corporations in other municipalities for the furnishing of electric lights and power under the same terms, rates, rules, and regulations as the same is furnished to residents of the City of Kingsland, or at a higher rate as the said mayor and council of the City of Kingsland may provide. For the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act the mayor and council of said city shall have the right and authority to purchase or condemn land and premises for such purposes, whether within or without the limits of said city, the condemnation proceedings to be the same as hereinbefore set out in this charter.

(1927 Ga. Laws (Act No. 236), page 1241, § 47; 1962 Ga. Laws (Act No. 558), page 2097, § 1)