(1) Any combination of municipalities, special districts, or other political subdivisions of this state that are authorized to own and operate water systems or facilities or drainage facilities may establish, by contract with each other, a separate governmental entity, to be known as a water or drainage authority, to be used by such contracting parties to effect the development of water resources, systems, or facilities or of drainage facilities in whole or in part for the benefit of the inhabitants of such contracting parties or others at the discretion of the board of directors of the water or drainage authority. (2) Any contract establishing such separate governmental entity shall specify: (a) The name and purpose of such entity and the functions or services to be provided by such entity; (b) The establishment and organization of a governing body of the entity, which shall be a board of directors in which all legislative power of the entity is vested, including: (I) The number of directors, their manner of appointment, their terms of office, their compensation, if any, and the procedure for filling vacancies on the board; (II) The officers of the entity, the manner of their selection, and their duties; (III) The voting requirements for action by the board; except that, unless specifically provided otherwise, a majority of directors shall constitute a quorum, and a majority of the quorum shall be necessary for any action taken by the board; (IV) The duties of the board, which shall include the obligation to comply with the provisions of parts 1, 5, and 6 of this article; (c) Provisions for the disposition, division, or distribution of any property or assets of the entity; (d) The term of the contract, which may be continued for a definite term or until rescinded or terminated, and the method, if any, by which it may be rescinded or terminated; except that such contract may not be rescinded or terminated so long as the entity has bonds, notes, or other obligations outstanding, unless provision for full payment of such obligations, by escrow or otherwise, has been made pursuant to the terms of such obligations; (e) The conditions or requirements to be fulfilled for adding or deleting parties to the contract in the future or for providing water services and drainage facilities to others outside the boundaries of the contracting parties. (3) The general powers of such entity shall include the following powers: (a) To develop water resources, systems, or facilities or drainage facilities in whole or in part for the benefit of the inhabitants of the contracting parties or others, at the discretion of the board of directors, subject to fulfilling any conditions or requirements set forth in the contract establishing the entity; (b) To make and enter into contracts; (c) To employ agents and employees; (d) To acquire, construct, manage, maintain, or operate water systems, facilities, works, or improvements, or drainage facilities, or any interest therein; (e) To acquire, hold, lease (as lessor or lessee), sell, or otherwise dispose of any real or personal property utilized only for the purposes of water treatment, distribution, and wastewater disposal, or of drainage; (f) To condemn property for use as rights-of-way only if such property is not owned by any public utility and devoted to such public use pursuant to state authority; (g) To incur debts, liabilities, or obligations; (h) To sue and be sued in its own name; (i) To have and use a corporate seal; (j) To fix, maintain, and revise fees, rates, and charges for functions, services, or facilities provided by the entity; (k) To adopt, by resolution, regulations respecting the exercise of its powers and the carrying out of its purpose; (l) To exercise any other powers which are essential to the provision of functions, services, or facilities by the entity and which are specified in the contract; (m) To do and perform any acts and things authorized by this section under, through, or by means of an agent or by contracts with any person, firm, or corporation; (n) To permit other municipalities, special districts, or political subdivisions of this state that are authorized to supply water or to provide drainage facilities to enter the contract at the discretion of the board of directors, subject to fulfilling any and all conditions or requirements of the contract establishing the entity; except that rates need not be uniform between the authority and the contracting parties; (o) To provide for the rehabilitation of any surfaces adversely affected by the construction of water pipelines, facilities, or systems or of drainage facilities through the rehabilitation of plant cover, soil stability, and other measures appropriate to the subsequent beneficial use of such lands; (p) To justly indemnify property owners or others affected for any losses or damages incurred, including reasonable attorney fees, or that may subsequently be caused by or which result from actions of such corporations. (4) The separate governmental entity established by such contracting parties shall be a political subdivision and a public corporation of the state, separate from the parties to the contract. It shall have the duties, privileges, immunities, rights, liabilities, and disabilities of a public body politic and corporate. The provisions of articles 10.5 and 47 of title 11, C.R.S., shall apply to moneys of the entity. (5) The bonds, notes, and other obligations of a water or drainage authority formed under the provisions of this section shall not be the debts, liabilities, or obligations of the original contracting parties or parties that may enter the establishing contract in the future. (6) The contracting parties may provide in the contract for payment to the separate governmental entity of funds from proprietary revenues for services rendered by the entity, from proprietary revenues or other public funds as contributions to defray the cost of any purpose set forth in the contract, and from proprietary revenues or other public funds as advances for any purpose subject to repayment by the entity. (7) (a) To carry out the purposes for which the separate governmental entity was established, the entity is authorized to issue bonds, notes, or other obligations payable solely from the revenues derived from the function, service, system, or facility or the combined functions, services, systems, or facilities of the entity or from any other available funds of the entity. The terms, conditions, and details of said bonds, notes, and other obligations, the procedures related thereto, and the refunding thereof shall be set forth in the resolution authorizing said bonds, notes, or other obligations and, as nearly as may be practicable, shall be substantially the same as those provided in part 4 of article 35 of title 31, C.R.S., relating to water and sewer revenue bonds; except that the purposes for which the same may be issued shall not be so limited and except that said bonds, notes, and other obligations may be sold at public or private sale. Bonds, notes, or other obligations issued under this subsection (7) shall not constitute an indebtedness of the entity or the cooperating or contracting parties within the meaning of any constitutional or statutory limitations or other provision. Each bond, note, or other obligation issued under this subsection (7) shall recite in substance that said bond, note, or other obligation, including the interest thereon, is payable solely from the revenues and other available funds of the entity pledged for the payment thereof and that said bond, note, or other obligation does not constitute a debt of the entity or the cooperating or contracting parties within the meaning of any constitutional or statutory limitation or provision. Notwithstanding anything in this section to the contrary, such bonds, notes, and other obligations may be issued to mature at such times not beyond forty years from their respective issue dates, shall bear interest at such rates, and shall be sold at, above, or below the principal amount thereof, all as shall be determined by the board of directors of the entity. (b) The resolution, trust indenture, or other security agreement under which any bonds, notes, or other obligations are issued shall constitute a contract with the holders thereof, and it may contain such provisions as shall be determined by the board of directors of the entity to be appropriate and necessary in connection with the issuance thereof and to provide security for the payment thereof, including, without limitation, any mortgage or other security interest in any revenues, funds, rights, or properties of the entity. The bonds, notes, and other obligations of the entity and the income therefrom shall be exempt from taxation by this state, except inheritance, estate, and transfer taxes. (8) A separate governmental entity established by contract, if the contract so provides, shall be the successor to any nonprofit corporation, agency, or other entity theretofore organized by the contracting parties to provide the same function, service, system, or facility, and such separate governmental entity shall be entitled to all rights and privileges and shall assume all obligations and liabilities of such other entity under existing contracts to which such other entity is a party. (9) The authority granted pursuant to this section shall in no manner limit the powers of governments to enter into intergovernmental cooperation or contracts or to establish separate legal entities pursuant to the provisions of section 29-1-203 or any other applicable law or otherwise to carry out their powers under applicable statutory or charter provisions, nor shall such authority limit the powers reserved to cities and towns by section 2 of article XI of the state constitution. Nothing in this part 2 constitutes a legislative declaration of preference for water systems or facilities or for drainage facilities owned by separate governmental entities over water systems or facilities or over drainage facilities owned by other or different entities.
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