(a) The public corporation, the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority, previously created by this section is hereby converted to a new public corporation created as a joint development entity of the participating counties for the purpose of enabling and facilitating the development and operation of a system of trail-oriented recreation facilities for use by off-highway motor vehicle enthusiasts. This recreational trail system shall be located in the counties of Boone, Braxton, Clay, Fayette, Kanawha, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Nicholas, Wayne, Webster, and Wyoming with significant portions of the recreational trail system being located on private property made available for use through lease, license, easement, or other appropriate legal form by a willing landowner.

(b) The authority shall be governed by a board of no more than two times the number of participating counties who shall be representative of the various interests involved in the Hatfield-McCoy Recreation Area project in the participating counties and who shall be appointed as follows:

(1) The county commission of each participating county, as defined in section two of this article, shall appoint one member of the board who represents and is associated with travel and tourism or economic development efforts within the county or who is associated with a mining, logging, natural gas, or other resource-extraction industry or who is a licensed land surveyor or licensed professional engineer. The initial appointment shall be for a two-year term, but all subsequent appointments shall be for a four-year term.

(2) The county commission of each participating county, as defined in §20-14-2 of this code, shall appoint one member of the board who represents and is associated with a corporation or individual landowner whose land is being used or is expected to be used in the future as part of the Hatfield-McCoy Recreation Area project or their designee. This member shall be appointed to a four-year term.

Any appointed member whose term has expired shall serve until his or her successor has been duly appointed and qualified. Any person appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve only for the unexpired term. Any appointed member is eligible for reappointment. Members of the board are not entitled to compensation for services performed as members but are entitled to reimbursement for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties.

(c) The conversion of the Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority to a joint development entity does not terminate or interrupt its status as a public corporation. The amendments to this article made during the 2015 regular session of the Legislature do not alter the debts, liabilities, responsibilities, or other obligations of any party with regard to this public corporation.

(d) The Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority is a “public body” for purposes of the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act, as provided in article one, chapter twenty-nine-b of this code.