(1) Any twenty-five residents of the county may file a petition with the clerk of the board of county commissioners setting forth that there is a need for an authority to function in the county. Upon the filing of such petition, the clerk of the board shall give notice of the time, place, and purpose of a public hearing at which the board will determine the need for such an authority in the county. Such notice shall be given at the county's expense by publishing a notice at least ten days preceding the day on which the hearing is to be held in a newspaper having a general circulation in the county or, if there is no newspaper, by posting such notice in at least three public places within the county at least ten days preceding the day on which the hearing is to be held. (2) Upon the date fixed for said hearing, held upon notice as provided in this section, a full opportunity to be heard shall be granted to all residents and taxpayers of the county and to all other interested persons. After such a hearing, the board shall determine whether there is a shortage of decent, safe, and sanitary dwelling accommodations in the county available to persons engaged in agricultural work, their families, and other low income families. If the board determines that such condition of shortage exists, the board shall adopt a resolution so finding and shall cause notice of such determination to be given to the chairman of the board, who shall thereupon appoint commissioners, as provided in either subsection (2) or (3) of section 29-4-504, to act as an authority. A certificate signed by such commissioners so appointed by the chairman of the board shall then be filed with the division of local government in the department of local affairs, and there remain of record, setting forth that a notice has been given and a public hearing has been held as aforesaid; that the board made a determination of such shortage after such hearing; and that the chairman of the board has appointed them as commissioners to act as an authority. Upon the filing of such certificate with said division, the commissioners and their successors shall constitute a housing authority, which shall be a body corporate and politic. (3) If the board, after a hearing, determines that there is not a shortage of decent, safe, and sanitary dwelling accommodations in the county available to persons engaged in agricultural work, to their families, and to other families of low income, it shall adopt a resolution denying the petition. After three months have expired from the denial of the petition, subsequent petitions may be filed and new hearings and determinations made thereon. (4) In any suit, action, or proceeding involving the validity or enforcement of any contract, mortgage, trust indenture, or other agreement of the authority or involving any action taken by the authority, the authority shall be conclusively deemed to have been established in accordance with the provisions of this part 5 upon proof of the filing of the aforesaid certificate. A copy of such certificate, duly certified by the director of the division of local government, shall be admissible in evidence in any such suit, action, or proceeding and shall be conclusive proof of the filing and the contents thereof. (5) If the board of county commissioners denies any petition filed for the creation of a housing authority in accordance with the provisions of subsection (3) of this section and the residents of such county determine that there is in fact a shortage of decent, safe, and sanitary dwelling accommodations in the county, a petition may be filed with the board requesting that the question of the approval or disapproval of creating a housing authority be submitted to a vote of the qualified electors of such county. If the petition, which may consist of one or more separate copies, contains the signatures and residence addresses of qualified electors of such county equal in number to not less than five percent of the votes cast for governor or for president and vice president of the United States at the last preceding general election held within such county, the board shall cause the question of the creation of a housing authority to be submitted at the next general election. All registered electors within the county shall be eligible to vote on the question, which shall be conducted, insofar as possible, in accordance with the provisions of sections 29-4-604 to 29-4-607; except that the question to be voted on shall be the creation of a housing authority, and the provisions of the "Uniform Election Code of 1992" shall apply.
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