SECTIONS 5181-5199 - California Statutes

PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE

SECTION 5181-5199

5181. All lands, parks, highways, and avenues in any city or city
and county, which prior to March 14, 1889, were set apart by law for
public parks and which have been placed under the management or
control of a board of park commissioners, shall remain and continue
to be public parks, subject to the management and control of the
several boards of park commissioners.

5182. Each board of park commissioners shall consist of three
persons, who shall be appointed by the Governor.
They shall hold their offices for four years, respectively, and
shall receive no compensation for their services.

5183. In case of a vacancy in the membership of the board, it shall
be filled by an appointee of the remaining members of the board, for
the unexpired term.
All vacancies caused by the expiration of the term of office of
any member or by the failure or neglect to qualify of any person
appointed by the Governor, shall be filled by the Governor.
Each member of each board shall be a freeholder and a resident of
the city, or city and county, in which the board of which he is a
member is to act.

5184. The Governor shall issue a commission to each commissioner
appointed by him or her, and each commissioner shall, within 20 days
after the receipt thereof, take and subscribe the oath of office
prescribed by law.

5185. Two members of the board constitute a quorum for the
transaction of business; and the concurrent action of two members is
sufficient to enable the board to:
(a) Make any contracts pertaining to the park or parks under the
control of the board.
(b) Draw and expend any money which has been appropriated or set
apart for the support of the park or parks, or which constitutes any
portion of the funds applicable to their support.

5186. Each board shall govern, manage, and direct the parks,
avenues, and grounds which are placed under its care and charge.

5187. It may employ and appoint superintendents, laborers, clerks
or secretaries, attorneys, surveyors, and engineers, and it may
engage and employ musicians for service in the park, and other
officers and assistants.

5188. It may prescribe and fix the duties, authority, and
compensation of its appointees and employees. It shall manage and
disburse funds appropriated or provided for the support of the parks
and grounds.

5189. Moneys shall not be paid out of the treasury of any city, or
city and county, except upon warrants duly signed by a majority of
the board of park commissioners and audited by the auditor of the
city.

5190. Every park commissioner who is interested, directly or
indirectly, in any contract or work of any kind connected with the
park or grounds under the control of the board of which he is a
member is guilty of a felony.
Every person who knows or is informed of a violation of this
section, shall forthwith report it to the Governor, who shall hear
the allegations and proofs. If, after the hearing, the Governor is
satisfied of the truth of the charge, he shall immediately remove the
commissioner who has been guilty of the offense.

5191. Each board shall on the first Monday of July of each year
make to the Legislature of the State, and to the legislative body of
the city in which the board is acting, a full report of its
proceedings and a detailed statement of its receipts and
expenditures.

5192. Each board of park commissioners may let or lease any portion
of the parks or grounds under its control, not exceeding one acre in
extent, to any one person, until the grounds so leased are required
for the improvement of such parks, or for public use as a park. The
lease shall be unassignable. No portion may be leased to any street
or other railroad company for a term exceeding three years.
All money realized from the leases shall be paid into the treasury
of the city, or city and county, in which the parks are situated,
and added to the funds appropriated or provided for the support of
the parks.

5193. Each board may pass and adopt ordinances which are necessary
for the regulation, use, and government of the parks and grounds
under its supervision, not inconsistent with the laws of the State.
These ordinances shall be published for ten days, Sunday excepted, in
a daily newspaper to be selected by the board, published in the city
or city and county in which the board is acting. Publication shall
be commenced within five days after passage of the ordinance.
Every person who violates any published ordinance is guilty of a
misdemeanor.

5194. Prisoners over the age of 18 years, who have been sentenced
to hard labor in any penal establishment of any city or city and
county may, upon the request and requisition of the board of park
commissioners, be put to work upon the parks and grounds which are
under the control of the board.

5195. Each board may accept donations and aid from any person or
corporation, and legacies and bequests by the last wills of deceased
persons, for the aid or improvement of the parks and grounds under
the control of the board. All money derived by any board from
donations, legacies, and bequests shall, unless otherwise provided by
the terms of the gift, legacy, or bequest, be deposited in the
treasury of the city or city and county and withdrawn and paid out in
the same manner as money legally appropriated for the support and
improvement of the parks and grounds.

5196. If the money derived from gifts, bequests, or legacies at any
time exceeds the sum necessary for immediate expenditure on the
parks and grounds, or if it is advisable to invest all or a part of
such funds in an interest-bearing or productive investment, the board
may invest such money in interest-bearing bonds of the Government of
the United States, or the State of California, or in obligations
issued pursuant to the provisions of the Federal Home Loan Bank Act,
approved July 22, 1932, as now or hereafter amended, or in
obligations issued pursuant to Title 4 of the National Housing Act,
approved June 27, 1934, as now or hereafter amended. Thereafter the
board may sell and dispose of these securities, or change the form of
the investment.

5199. A board of park commissioners shall not in any year incur any
debt or liability or expend any money beyond the amount legally
applicable to the support, preservation, and improvement of the parks
and grounds under the control of the board.