Opinion ID: 2348800
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Authority to Grant the Second Easement

Text: We are cited to Fussell v. Forrest City, 145 Ark. 375, 224 S.W. 745 (1920), and other cases [1] for the proposition that the County lacked the authority to grant the second easement. As set out in the cited cases, the common law rule is that a municipality is a mere trustee for the public in land dedicated to the benefit of the people of the state and may not sell an interest in the land without legislative authority. Fussell, supra ; see also, 56 AM. JUR.2D Municipal Corporations § 507 (2000). We are thus asked to determine whether there is statutory authority for the County to grant the second easement: We review issues of statutory construction de novo, as it is for this court to decide what a statute means. Hodges v. Huckabee, 338 Ark. 454, 995 S.W.2d 341 (1999). In this respect, we are not bound by the decision of the trial court; however, in the absence of a showing that the trial court erred in its interpretation of the law, that interpretation will be accepted as correct on appeal. Ghegan & Ghegan, Inc. v. Barclay, 345 Ark. 514, 49 S.W.3d 652 (2001). The first rule in considering the meaning and effect of a statute is to construe it just as it reads, giving the words their ordinary meaning and usually accepted meaning in common language. Weiss v. McFadden, 353 Ark. 868, 120 S.W.3d 545 (2003). We construe the statute so that no word is left void, superfluous, or insignificant; and meaning and effect are given to every word in the statute if possible. Ozark Gas Pipeline Corp. v. Arkansas Pub. Serv. Comm'n, 342 Ark. 591, 29 S.W.3d 730 (2000). When the language of the statute is plain and unambiguous, there is no need to resort to rules of statutory construction. Weiss v. McFadden, supra . When the meaning is not clear, we look to the language of the statute, the subject matter, the object to be accomplished, the purpose to be served, the remedy provided, the legislative history, and other appropriate means that shed light on the subject. Id. MacSteel, 363 Ark. at 29-30, 210 S.W.3d at 882-83. The circuit court found that the easement was granted to facilitate industrial development. Statutory authority for this is found in Ark.Code Ann. § 14-164-205 (Repl.1998): Any municipality or any county is authorized to own, acquire, construct, reconstruct, extend, equip, improve, operate, maintain, sell, lease, or contract concerning, or otherwise deal in or dispose of, any land, buildings, or facilities of any and every nature whatever that can be used in securing or developing industry within or near the municipality or county. This statute grants a municipality authority to dispose of any land if it is to secure or develop industry. This is a broad grant of authority and if the General Assembly had intended to exclude land dedicated as public parks, it could have done so. It did not. Further, the restrictions placed on conveyance of land under section 14-16-105, as amended by Act 1240 of 2005 provides that [t]he procedures for sale and conveyance of county property set forth in this section shall not apply ... [w]hen the county is conveying an easement, including but not limited to ... gas lines.... Ark. Code Ann. § 14-16-105(2)(C) (Supp.2005). This would seem to resolve the issue in MacSteel's favor. However, AOG cites us to Washington County v. Shelton, 201 Ark. 301, 144 S.W.2d 20 (1940), and Little Rock Chamber of Commerce v. Pulaski County, 113 Ark. 439, 168 S.W. 848 (1914), for the proposition that a general authorization to alienate an interest in real property does not reach property held in trust for a specific purpose. These two cases refer to a statute no longer in force and do not discuss whether real property held in trust for a specific purpose can be alienated. Rather, they discuss whether sufficient consideration supported the sale of county property in each case. There is no merit to AOG's claim that the holdings in Little Rock, supra , and Washington County, supra , preclude the grant of the easement because the property was held in trust for the specific purpose of public recreation. In construing section 14-164-205, just as it reads, giving the words their ordinary meaning and usually accepted meaning in common language, the statute is plain, unambiguous, and provides that any municipality or county may contract or alienate any land or facilities of any and every nature whatever in securing or developing industry. Certainly the grant of the second easement by Sebastian County to allow MacSteel to obtain gas for its industrial operations is permitted under the plain meaning of this statute.