(A) Duty of Commissioners. The said Commissioners shall, with all reasonable speed, with the assistance of the City Engineer, cause a survey and plat of the proposed improvement to be made and filed with the City Auditor, exhibiting, as far as practicable, the land or parcel of property required to be taken, or which may be damaged thereby, and shall thereupon give notice, by publication in the official newspaper for at least ten days, to the effect that such plat has been filed, and that said Commissioners will meet at a place and time designated by them in such notice, and thence to proceed to view the premises, and assess the damages for the property to be taken or which may be damaged by such improvements.
(B) Power and duties. At the time and place mentioned in said notice, the said Commissioners shall view the premises and may hear any evidence, or proof offered by parties interested, and adjourn from day to day, if necessary for the purpose aforesaid. When this view and hearing aforesaid shall be concluded, they shall determine and assess the amount of damages to be paid to the owner or owners of each parcel of property proposed to be taken, or which may be damaged by said improvement, and in doing so, shall take into consideration the value of the property proposed to be taken, and such other damages as may be incident thereto, and also the advantages that will accrue to the owner or owners in asking such improvements, and in case the making of such improvements, should require the removal of any building or otherwise injure any permanent improvement, the said Commissioners shall assess the damages separately from the damages of the land upon which they are erected.
(C) Damages, application for award. If the lands and buildings belong to different persons, or if the land be subject to lease, mortgage, or judgment, or if there be any estate in it less than an estate in fee, the injury or damages done to such persons, or interest respectively, may be awarded to them, less the benefit resulting to them from the improvement. Provided that such person or persons owning such interests, or his or her or their authorised agent shall make application to said Commissioners for such division of the award, prior to the filing of their report.
(D) Report of the Commissioners. The said Commissioners, having ascertained and assessed the damages, aforesaid shall make and file with the City Auditor, a written report to the City Council of their actions in the premises, embracing a schedule, or assessment of damages, in each case, with a description of the land and the name of the owner, if known to them, and also a statement of the costs of the proceedings.
(E) Publication of notice. Upon such report being filed in the office of the City Auditor, said City Auditor shall give at least ten days notice by publication in the official newspaper to the effect that such assessment has been returned, and that the same will be confirmed by the City Council at a meeting thereof, to be mailed in said notice, unless objections are made, in writing, by persons interested in any land required to be taken. The City Council, upon the day fixed for the consideration of such report, or at any subsequent meeting to which the same may stand over or be referred, shall have the power in its discretion to confirm, revise, or annul the assessment giving due consideration to any objections interposed by parties interested. If the report be not confirmed by the City Council, proceedings may taken anew to assess the damages.
(F) Damages paid out of General Fund. The damages assessed shall be paid out of the General Fund of the city and shall be paid, tendered, or deposited, and set apart in the city treasury, to and for the use of the parties entitled thereto, on the taking of the property and report: and in case the City Council should be unable to determine to whom the damages in any particular case so awarded should be paid; or in case of disputed claims in relation thereto, the damages in such cases may be deposited, by the order of the City Council, in the Circuit Court of the county in the same manner as monies are paid into courts, until the parties entitled thereto shall substantiate their claims thereto.
(G) Removal of buildings. Whenever, in making such improvements, it shall be found necessary to remove any building or part thereof, the Commissioners shall assess the damages to the owner thereof be removed, and the owner thereof shall elect which assessment he or she will take, by a written notice, to be presented to the City Council at the time of the confirmation of the assessment, and in case he or she or they elect to remove said building, the same shall be done within 30 days after such confirmation, and shall thereupon be entitled to the amount so awarded. When such owner shall not have elected to remove such building, or shall have neglected to remove it after having so elected, like in the prescribed time, such building or so much thereof as may be necessary, upon the payment or depositing the amount of damage so recorded, in manner aforesaid, may there be taken and appropriated, sold, or disposed of as the City Council may direct, and the same or the proceeds thereof shall belong to the city.
(H) Appeal. Any person feeling himself or herself aggrieved by the assessment may, by notice in writing served on the proper officers of the city a copy thereof with proof of service, shall be filed in the office of the Clerk of the Circuit Court of such county, which in 20 days after the confirmation of said report or assessment, appeal from such assessment to the Circuit Court aforesaid, when such appeal shall be tried by Court and jury, as in ordinary cases, but no pleadings shall be required, and the party appealing shall specify in the notice of appeal the grounds of objections to such assessment, and shall not be entitled to have any other objections than those specified, considered, and a transcript of such report, certified by the City Auditor, or the original thereof shall be prima facie evidence of the facts therein contained and that said assessment was just and made in conformity to law: the Judgment of such court therein shall be final; such appeal shall be entered and brought on for trial, and be governed by the same rules in all other respects as appeals from Justices of the Peace in civil actions.
(I) Survey. Whenever any public grounds, street, or alley, shall be laid out, widened, or enlarged under the provisions of this act, the City Council shall cause an accurate survey and profile thereof to be made, and filed in the office of the City Engineer, and also filed in the office of the Register of Deeds of the county in which said city is situated.
(J) Vacation of public grounds. No public grounds, streets, or alleys as part thereof within the city shall be vacated or discontinued by the City Council, except upon a petition of a majority of the owners on the line of such public grounds, streets, or alleys resident within the city. Such petition shall set forth the facts and reasons for such vacation, accompanied by a plat of such public grounds, streets, or alleys proposed to be vacated, and shall be verified by the oath of at least two of the petitioners, and the consent, in writing, of all the owners of the property adjoining the plat to be so vacated. The City Council thereupon shall, if it deems it expedient that the matter or be proceeded with, order the petition to be filed with the City Auditor, who shall give notice by publication in the official newspaper of the city for four weeks, at least once in each week, to the effect that such petition has been filed as aforesaid and stating in brief its object, and that said petition will be considered by the Council, or a committee of it on a certain day therein specified, not less than ten days from the expiration of such publication the City Council, or such committee as may be appointed by it for the purpose, at the time and place appointed, shall investigate, and consider the matter, and shall hear the evidence and testimony of the parties interested, the City Council thereupon after hearing the same or upon the report of such committee, favoring the granting of such petition, may by a two-thirds of all the members, elect to declare such public grounds, streets, alleys, or highways vacated: which said resolution, before the same shall go into effect, shall he published as in the case of ordinances and thereupon a transcript of such resolution, duly certified by the City Auditor, shall be filed for record, and duly recorded in the office of the Register of Deeds of the county; any party aggrieved thereby may, within 20 days after the publication of such resolution, appeal to the court of the county under the same regulations, as in the case of opening the streets and alleys, and the judgment of the Court therein shall be final.
(K) Record of proceedings. It shall be the duty of the City Auditor to keep in his or her office a record of all proceedings taken in the matter of opening, paving, vacating, or otherwise improving streets and alleys and after the confirmation of any report mentioned herein in such matter, such Auditor shall carefully record in such record all the proceedings taken in relation to the matters in said report, including all petitions, orders, and appointments of Commissioners, notices, and proof of publication thereof, and orders and resolutions of the Council; and the said record, or a certified transcript thereof, or the original papers, petitions, proofs of publications, orders, or resolutions on file in his or her office shall be prima facie evidence of the facts therein contained in any court or place in this state.
(L) Improvements, contracts let to the lowest bidder. When the City Council shall deem it necessary to open, widen, extend, grade, pave, macadamize, bridge, construct a viaduct, curb, gutter, drain, lay, or extend its water mains, or otherwise improve any street, alley, lane, avenue, or highway, or other public grounds within the city limits, for which a special assessment is to be levied as herein provided, the City Council shall, by resolution, declare such work or improvements necessary to be done, and such resolution shall be published for four consecutive weeks, at least once a week, in the official newspaper of the city, and if a majority of the owners of the property liable to be assessed therefor shall not, within 20 days of the expiration of such publication, then the City Auditor a written protest against the improvement, then the City Council shall have the power to cause such improvements to be made and to contract therefor, and to levy and to collect the assessment as herein provided, and all work done under this section shall be let by contract to the lowest responsible bidder therefor.
(M) Estimation of costs. Whenever any work or improvement mentioned in division (N) below shall have been determined upon and the contract let therefor, the City Engineer shall forthwith calculate the amount to be assessed for such improvement for each lot or parcel of ground abutting or abounding upon such improvement, and in estimating the assessment, he or she shall take the cost of such improvements fronting on the property to be assessed, and divide the same by the number of feet fronting or abutting upon the same, and the quotient shall be the sum to be assessed per front foot so abutting, said estimate shall be filed with the City Auditor, and shall be presented to the City Council, for its approval, at the first meeting held thereafter, and the City Auditor shall cause said estimate of the City Engineer, together with notice of time end place when the Council will meet to approve of the same to be published in the official newspaper of the city for at least ten days prior bo the meeting of the City Council to approve the same.
(N) Assessments. After said estimate provided in division (M) above shall have been so approved, the City Auditor shall forthwith make, or cause to be made, an assessment roll describing the property so assessed, with the name of the owner, if known, and the amount assessed to each lot or parcel of land, approved by the City Council, and attach thereto, a copy of the resolutions of the City Council, approving the same, and certify that the same is correct, and shall file the same with the City Treasurer for collection. The City Treasurer shall publish said list three successive weeks, at least once in each week, in the official newspaper of the city, together with a notice that a penalty of 10% will be added thereto, if the same is not paid within 30 days after the date of the first publication, stating the time when such penalty shall accrue.
(Ord. 36, passed 6-17-1895)