DEC logoCHAPTER 498
THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS

In the Year One Thousand Nine Hundred and Ninety-three
AN ACT CREATING THE DEVENS ENTERPRISE COMMISSION

SECTION 12. Powers and Responsibilities of the Bank

Powers and responsibilities of the Bank. The Bank is hereby designated as the public agency or instrumentality exclusively authorized and empowered to do all acts and things necessary or convenient to negotiate the acquisition of and acquire Fort Devens, or interests therein, improvements thereon, including, without limitation, buildings and utility systems, "and equipment and personal property, from the federal government, provided that the Towns and other public agencies and institutions of the commonwealth may also negotiate the acquisition of portions of Fort Devens as public benefit transfers in accordance with section fifteen of this act. For purposes of chapter 40D of the General Laws, Devens shall be deemed a municipality and until July 1, 2033, the bank shall be deemed the industrial development financing authority for Devens.2

Until July 1, 2033, the bank shall have the authority to promulgate reasonable regulations to maintain the public health, welfare and safety of the residents of Devens including, but not limited to, regulations concerning the use of motor vehicles and parking: provided, however, that such rules and regulations shall be promulgated pursuant to the provisions of sections 2 to 7, inclusive, of chapter 30A of the General Laws: provided, further, that the bank shall be deemed to be an agency for purposes of said sections 2 to 7, inclusive: provided further, that the maximum penalty for violation of such regulations shall be $500 for each offense: provided, further, that any such penalties collected by the bank shall be deposited in a separate account which shall be available for expenditure by the bank for the operation of Devens so long as the bank submits a report to the house and senate committees on ways and means on the first day of each quarter as to the source and amount of the deposits to said account and the purpose and amount of any expenditures from said account: and provided, further, that such regulations shall be enforceable in the courts to the same extent and in the same manner as other agency regulations or municipal by-laws.The Bank may, in its own name or in conjunction with others, license, lease or acquire title to the land, buildings and improvements that comprise all or any portion of Fort Devens upon the transfer or disposition of all, or any portion of. Fort Devens by the federal government Pursuant to 40 U.S.C., section 484, the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 199.0 (part A of Title XXIX of Public Law 101-510; 10 U.S.C. 2687note), as amended, or any other applicable statute. The Bank is hereby designated as the exclusive public agency or instrumentality authorized and empowered to maintain, operate, administer, manage and oversee the redevelopment of Devens, pursuant to the provisions of this act and the powers granted to the Bank pursuant to chapter two hundred and twelve of the acts of nineteen hundred and seventy-five, as amended, and subject to the Reuse Plan and Bylaws, and the authority of the Commission and the Towns hereunder. The Bank's authority with regard to the operation, maintenance and reuse of Devens shall be limited to the provisions of this act and chapter two hundred and twelve of the acts of nineteen hundred and seventy-five, as amended.3

In order to carry out the provisions of this act, the Bank may, in addition to the other powers set forth in this act, exercise the following enumerated powers in relation to the redevelopment of Devens as provided by the Reuse Plan and Bylaws:

(a) establish a department of public works or develop alternative methods for providing services necessary to plan, lay out, construct and maintain the streets, public ways, private ways and other public facilities;

(b) contract for police services with one or more of the Town's police, state police or the military police, provided that the police appointed or employed by the Bank shall have within the borders of Devens all the powers of police officers and constables of the towns of the Commonwealth;

(c) establish a fire department pursuant to section forty- two A of chapter forty-eight of the General Laws;

(d) contract or enter into agreements with the Towns, or any one or more of them, the federal government, any agency thereof or any other person or entity, including, without limitation, the Commonwealth, other municipalities or regional entities, for the provision of services to Devens or for the provision of services on a regional basis including Devens, pursuant to the provisions of this act;

(e) enter into agreements with and provide licenses and easements to utility companies, other private or public persons or entities or the Towns to provide utility services, including, but not limited to, electricity, gas, cable television and telephone services;

(f) take any actions authorized by chapter forty of the General Laws, necessary to supply water to Devens, including the establishment of a water supply or water distribution system and to maintain and operate the same, provided that the Towns, or any of them, at its or their own expense, shall be permitted by the Bank to integrate its or their water supply and distribution systems with the water supply and distribution system of Devens, if such capacity exists;

(g) layout, construct, maintain. and operate a system or systems of common sewers and drains in public and private ways, and a system or systems for sewage treatment and disposal, for all or a part of Devens, which system may be a part of a regional sewage treatment and disposal system in which the Towns or anyone of them may be included, at its or their own expense, as required for the public or the public health, and determine assessments and other charges related to laying out, constructing and maintaining such sewerage systems, all as provided in chapter eighty-three of the General Laws;

(h) acquire, construct, maintain and operate refuse treatment and disposal facilities, as provided by the Reuse Plan;

(i) investigate, engineer, lay out, accept and construct any public or private way consistent with the reuse plan, by-laws and regulations;

(j) dispose of, by sale, license, lease, in fee or in any other manner any portion or all at Devens or any interest therein, building or improvement thereon, by gift or for such price, rental or other consideration payable over such term, and bearing such interest rate as to deferred payments and secured in such manner, by mortgage or otherwise, all as the Bank may determine to be desirable and consistent with the purposes of this act, notwithstanding the provisions of section six of chapter two hundred and twelve of the acts of nineteen hundred and seventy-five, as amended, relating to the disposition of federal surplus lands;

(k) receive for the purposes of this act any funds or moneys from any source, including grants, bequests, gifts or contributions made by any individual, association or corporation, or by municipal, county, state or federal governments, provided that whenever the terms of such grant, bequest, gift or contribution require the grantee to be a municipality, municipal agency or unit of local government, the Bank shall be so considered;

(l) acquire easements and other interest in land contiguous or adjacent to Devens in conformance with the Reuse Plan;

(m) in partnership with the Towns, develop and approve the Reuse Plan and Bylaws for Devens, as further described in section ten of this act;

(n) establish, increase or decrease any tax, rate, fee, rental or other charge for any service or other activity performed by or under the jurisdiction of the Bank, as provided in section twenty-one of this act; and

(o) exercise the power of eminent domain within Devens, as provided in chapters seventy-nine, seventy-nine A, eighty and eighty A of the General Laws, consistent with the reuse plan and by-laws and with the approval of the commission.

(p) exercise the rights provided to municipal governments and agencies under federal laws and regulations with regard to the powers of the Bank enumerated under this act.

Notwithstanding any provision of this act or any provision of chapter two hundred and twelve of the acts of nineteen hundred and seventy-five the provisions of sections fifteen, eighteen and nineteen of chapter eighty-four of the General Laws shall govern all claims against the bank resulting for a defect or want of repair or a want of a sufficient railing in or upon a way located in Fort Devens. Any notice of such injury, damage or death required by law shall be given to the treasurer of the Bank.4

Notwithstanding any provision of this act or of chapter two hundred and twelve of the acts of nineteen hundred and seventy-five, as amended, the Bank, in carrying out the provisions of this act shall be deemed a "public employer" as the term is defined in section one of chapter two hundred and fifty-eight. Any claim or notice pursuant to section four of chapter two hundred and fifty-eight shall be presented to the treasurer of the Bank.5

Notwithstanding any provision of this act, or of chapter two hundred and twelve of the acts of nineteen hundred and seventy-five, as amended, the Bank, in carrying out the provisions of this act, shall be deemed a city or town for the purposes of section two of chapter two hundred and eighty of the General Laws.6

2 This paragraph added by section 1 of Chapter 266 of the Acts of 1998.
3 This paragraph added by section 2 of Chapter 266 of the Acts of 1998.
4 This paragraph added by section 212 of Chapter 38 of the Acts of 1995.
5 This paragraph added by section 45 of Chapter 15 of the Acts of 1996.
6 This paragraph added by section 518 of Chapter 151 of the Acts of 1996


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