The Council is authorized and empowered to order and cause to be constructed, in said City, or part within and part outside of the limits of said City, public, common, lateral, branch, trunk, and combined sewers or public sewer systems, or both, by contract or direct by the City, for the benefit of said City or any part thereof, and to purchase lands or easements therein or to condemn lands or easements therein in the manner provided by law, for such sewers or sewer systems, and when the Council shall order and complete the construction of any such sewer or sewer system or any part thereof in said City, the owners of the property abutting on such sewer or abutting upon an avenue, street, alley, right of way or easement in which such sewer shall be constructed, or abutting on any avenue, street, alley, right of way, or easement in which any common sewer, part of a sewer system, is constructed and laid, may be charged with all or any part of the cost thereof, including the cost of such sewer or sewer system at and across intersections at avenues, streets, roads and alleys adjacent thereto. If said work is let to contract, the provisions of the Charter of the City of Dunbar relating to street paving contracts shall apply.
A sewer system shall be deemed to include all the common sewers, whether they be lateral, branch, trunk or combined sewers, and the outlet therefor, which serve to drain a definite drainage area as specified in the order of the Council directing the work to be done.
A common sewer shall be deemed to be a sewer in which all abuttors have equal rights of entrance and use.
A lateral sewer shall be deemed to be a sewer which does not receive the sewage from any other common sewer.
A branch sewer shall be deemed to be a sewer into which the sewage from two or more lateral sewers is discharged, including storm and surface water sewers.
A trunk sewer shall be deemed to be a sewer into which the sewage from two or more branch sewers is discharged.
A combined sewer shall be deemed to be a sewer intended to receive domestic sewage and industrial wastes.
When said sewer or sewer system is completed the engineer of said City shall report to the Council in writing, the total cost of such sewer or sewer system, and a description of the lots and lands as to the location, frontage, depth and ownership liable for such sewer assessment, so far as the same may be ascertained, together with the amount chargeable against each lot and owner, calculated in the following manner: The total cost of constructing and laying the sewer or sewer system, including the portions thereof laid in the intersections of streets and alleys, shall be borne by the owners of the land abutting upon the streets, avenues, alleys, rights of way or easements or portions thereof in which the sewer or some part of the sewer system is constructed and laid; payment is to be made by each land owner on either side of such portion of a street, alley, right of way or easement in which a common sewer is laid, in the proportion that the frontage of his land upon such portion of said street, alley, right of way or easement in which such sewer or sewer system is laid bears to the total frontage of all lands so abutting on such street, alley, right of way or easement in which the sewer or some part of the sewer system is laid; provided, that the charge laid against any such owner of property shall not exceed two dollars ($2.00) per linear foot of frontage on each side of such street, alley, right of way or easement in which any such sewer or part of a sewer system is laid. In case of a corner lot, frontage is to be measured along the longest dimension thereof abutting on such streets, alleys, rights of way or easements in which such sewer is laid, if sewered on the long side only, but if sewered on both sides then such corner lot is to be charged only with the side first sewered. Any lot having a depth of two hundred feet or more and fronting on two streets, alleys, rights of way or easements, one in the front and one in the rear of said lot, shall be assessed on both of said streets, alleys, rights of way or easements. Where a corner lot has been assessed on either or both ends, it shall not be assessed on the side, and where it has been assessed on the side, it shall not be assessed on the end.
In the case of corner lots where the cost of sewering along one dimension is not assessed against the owner thereof, in the case of lots less than two hundred feet deep abutting at both ends on a street, alley, right of way or easement in which a sewer is laid, the cost of sewering along the dimension or end not assessed against the property owner shall in every case be borne by the City of Dunbar.
Thereupon said Council shall give like notice by publication as is required in case of street paving assessments, and the same rights shall exist as to the persons and property affected and the same duty as to corrections by said Council as are prescribed with reference to paving. The report of the City Engineer shall in like manner be examined by the Council, and if found to be correct or corrected as aforesaid and such estimated assessments to be a fair and equitable apportionment of the cost of such sewer or sewer system upon the basis hereinbefore described, it shall enter an order upon its records, setting forth such location, depth, ownership and said amount of such sewer assessments, against each, respectively, calculated as aforesaid, and the entry of such order shall constitute and be an assessment for such proportion and amount so fixed therein against such respective owners and lots; and, if after such advertisement, notice and hearing, said Council shall find that such apportionment at such rate is unjust or inequitable, and contrary to the intent of this Charter, it shall ascertain, fix and assess the cost thereof among and upon the abutting owner, respectively, justly and equitably and according to the intent thereof, and in like manner, assess and enter the amount so fixed, respectively, upon its records; and, the Council shall, in either event, thereupon certify the same to the Treasurer for collection and certify a copy of such order to the clerk of the county court of Kanawha County, who shall record the same in the proper trust deed book, and index the same in the name of each owner of any such lot so charged with such assessment, and such assessment so made shall constitute and be a lien upon said lots, respectively, which shall have priority over all other liens, except those for taxes due the State, and shall be on a parity with other taxes and assessments due the City. Said amounts so assessed against the said several land owners shall be paid by the parties liable therefor to the said Treasurer at all times, in the manner and with the attendant penalties for failure to pay promptly at the time prescribed in all respects as hereinbefore provided in the case of assessments for paving streets and alleys in a permanent manner, and the parties liable therefor shall, in the same manner, and to the extent, having the right and be entitled to anticipate any or all of such installments thereon as in such case provided. The owners of, or the tenants, occupants or agents in control of any lot abutting on or near adjacent to any street, avenue, alley, right of way or easement in said City, in which a public sewer is or may hereafter be laid and constructed, upon which lot any business or residence building is or may hereafter be erected, or upon which any water stands not connected with any public sewer, may be required and compelled to connect any such building or lot with such sewer. Notice to so connect may be given to the owner, lessee, or occupant of such building. Each day's failure to comply with such notice and connect with such sewer by such owner or owners, ten days after such notice is given, shall be a misdemeanor and a separate and new offense under this section, and every such offense shall be punishable by a fine of not less than five dollars ($5.00) nor more than twenty-five dollars ($25.00). The expense incurred by any tenant, occupant, or agent in complying with the order of said Council to make such sewer connection may be deducted out of the accruing rents as provided for in section forty- seven relating to the abatement of nuisances. Jurisdiction to hear, try, determine and sentence for violation of this section is vested in the Municipal court of such City.
The liens herein and hereinbefore provided for street paving, macadamizing and sewerage assessments and assessments for other improvements shall constitute liens upon the real estate upon which they are assessed, as against creditors of the owners thereof, or purchasers for value, and without actual notice of such liens, only from and after the date the contract is made for such work, and shall have priority over all liens placed on said property after said contract is made by the City for said work.