19-2774.   Same; special road and street improvements; petition;engineer's report; notice to owners; protests; special assessments; bonds. That whenever a petition, signed by not less than majority of the ownersof land abutting upon a street, road, alley, or other public traveled waywithin the improvement district or signed by the owners of all of theproperty located within the district, is presented to the board ofdirectors praying that certain improvements, to be described in thepetition, be made and that the cost thereof be assessed as specialassessment against the properties abutting on such street, road, alley orother public traveled way, the board of directors shall determine if thenumber of signers is adequate and if found sufficient the board ofdirectors shall have a competent registered engineer prepare plans,estimates and determine the estimated cost for each tract or parcelabutting on said proposed improvement. In the execution of this sectionabutting property shall be considered as reaching halfway to the nextstreet, or road if the tract is platted into blocks but in no case shallthe benefited property be considered as extending more than three hundred(300) feet from the property line of the street or road to be improved. Theengineer shall file a report with the secretary of the board showing thenature and character of the proposed work, plans and specifications, and alist of property owners and the estimated assessment against the propertyowned by each.

      The secretary of the board of directors shall notify each property ownerby registered mail the amount of the proposed assessment as set out in theengineer's report and shall also state in said notice that, except as toimprovements the petition for which is signed by the owners of all of theproperty within the district, if a majority of the resident property ownersdo not file protest within twenty (20) days that the board of directorswill proceed to cause said work to be done. If the board of directorsdetermine that insufficient protest has been filed within the protestperiod they shall cause said work to be done and levy special assessment orin their discretion or if so set out in the original petition they mayauthorize the issuance of general obligation bonds of the county thereforto be payable in equal annual installments. Such bonds shall be issued asprovided by law, but no bonds shall be issued under this provision untilthirty (30) days after the last day of the protest period and during saidthirty (30) days any person against whose property any special assessmentshall have been levied may pay the same in full and thereby discharge hisproperty from the lien thereof.

      History:   L. 1945, ch. 180, § 22; L. 1969, ch. 156, § 13; L. 1974, ch. 122, §19; March 18.