Upon the filing in the office of the secretary of state of the consent and request of any three or more of such counties, expressed and declared by resolution duly passed at a regular meeting of the governing bodies of such counties, after such notice and in such form as is required to obligate a county to enter into a legal contract for the payment of money, the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, shall appoint three suitable persons from each of said counties, and one person a resident of the state but not a resident of any of such counties, who shall be known as "The river bridge and tunnel commission" (inserting in the blank space the name of the stream or river).
N.J.S. § 32:12-2