Opening of

streets.

OPENING OF STREETS, ALLEYS, ETC.

SECTION 55. The common council shall have power to take, for the use of the city, in the manner hereinafter provided, any lots or any land for public squares, grounds, streets and allevs, and to widen or straighten the same, or for the purpose of erecting a public hall, market house, fire engine house or any building in the construction of water works, or for flowing the same, for supplying the city with water or any other lawful municipal purpose, or for erecting hospitals or pest houses, for the prevention of contagious or infectious diseases within the city, or for any needful or convenient purpose in connection with, or to execute and accomplish any other power, right or privilege, conferred on, or granted to the city by its charter, or any act amendatory thereof, or by any act of the legislature; and may take the same, and whether within or without the city, by conveyance from the owner upon a bargain, or upon a donation thereof, or in manner as follows: Whenever it shall, in the option of the common council, be necessary, said council shall declare, by resolution, that it is necessary to take any such lots or lands for any of the purposes above set forth, giving description of the premises, defining separately each parcel thereof separately owned and the purpose for which they are to be taken. The common council shall thereupon cause a written notice, as prescribed in the next section, to be served upon the occupant or occupants of such lands, and the owner or owners of the same, if the place of residence of such owner or owners is known, or can be ascertained by reasonable diligence, when such residence is within this state, and in case such owner or owners are non-residents of the state, or their place of residence, after due diligence by the city attorney of said city, cannot be ascertained, which fact shall be made to appear by his affidavit, then the common council shall cause service of such notice to be made on such non-resident owner or owners, or the owner or owners, the residence of whom cannot be ascertained, by causing the same to be published for six weeks in the official paper of the city, at least once each week, and by causing such notice to be mailed, postpaid, to the address of such owners within five days from the time of the

first publication of such notice when the postoffice address of such owner is known.

SECTION 56. Such notice shall be signed by the Notice, by city clerk or city attorney, and shall state the whom signed. adoption of the resolution and embrace a copy thereof, and further that at a time and place therein named, not less than ten days after the service of such notice, or the expiration of such publication, as the case may be, application will be made to the county judge of the said county of Jackson, for a jury to enquire and determine whether it is necessary to take the land or any part thereof, described in such resolutior, for the purposes therein specified. Such notice shall further state the time and place at which such jury will be applied for to meet to discharge such duty; and the judge aforesaid shall fix the time and place so named in the precept hereinafter mentioned, and no other notice thereof shall be necessary.

SECTION 57. At the time fixed in said notice for Condemnation

the appointment of such jurors, the judge named of premises, in said notice, upon proof of the service of the same on the owner or owners of the premises described in such notice, which proof shall be in the same manner as is now required to make proof of the service of a summons in civil actions in courts of record in this state, shall appoint twelve competent persons, having the qualification of jurors in and for the county of Jackson, and not residents of the ward in which such premises are situated, not interested in such application, but residents of the city shall not be disqualified. The same rights of challenge peremptorily, or for favor or cause, may be exercised by the city attorney, and by such land owner whose land is sought to be taken, or by his agent or attorney, as a party to a civil action in the circuit court is entitled to have; and the judge shall decide the same in like manner, and replace the name of any jurors successfully challenged, by the name of some other competent person, until a jury of twelve be chosen. The said judge shall thereupon issue his precept directed to such jurors, requiring them and each of them to appear before him, on the day named in the notice for such jurors to meet for the discharge of their duties under such appointment. The precept so issued may be served by the sheriff of said county, or by any public officer of said city. The jurors so chosen shall, before entering upon

In regard to the jurors.

Jurors shall view the premises.

Shall deliber

ate apart.

the performance of their duty, take an oath before such judge faithfully and impartially to discharge their duty as such jurors, and a true verdict give, whether it is necessary to take such land, or any part thereof, mentioned in such resolution, for the purpose therein specified.

SECTION 58. If any of the jurors so appointed shall be disqualified from acting, or shall refuse to act, the judge shall appoint others in their places, and a memorandum of such substitution shall be endorsed on the precept.

SECTION 59. The said jurors shall forthwith under direction of saiù judge, proceed in a body to view the premises in question, and shall hear such testimony as may be offered by any party interested, whose testimony shall be reduced to writing by said judge; and either of the jurors shall be authorized to administer the necessary oaths to witnesses.

SECTION 60. After having made such view and heard such testimony as shall have been produced, the said jury shall, under direction of said judge, deliberate apart and return their unanimous verdict in writing, signed by them, in which they shall find and state whether it is necessary to take the whole of the lands described in such resolution for the purpose therein specified, or any part thereof, describing particularly the part to be taken, if they find only a part thereof so necessary. Such verdict, with all the papers, proceedings and testimony had before him and said jury, shall then be forthwith filed by said judge with the clerk of the circuit court for Jackson county, together with a certificate by said judge that the same are the originals and the whole thereof. The clerk shall, on application, furnish a certified copy of the same, or any part thereof, which shall have the same force and effect as the originals. In case any jury called under the provisions of this charter shall disagree, another jury shall be forthwith selected in like manner, and all the like proceedings thereafter had as hereinbefore provided for the first jury, except that the said judge shall fix a reasonable time for the assembling of such jury in the precept therefor, but no other notice thereof shall be necessary to any party; and the like steps shall be taken in case of any further disagreement, until a verdict shall be found.

SECTION 61. Should the necessity for the taking of the premises, or any part thereof, mentioned in the resolution of the council, be so established by the verdict of the jury, then the common council may enter an order directing the city attorney to proceed to procure, to be assessed and appraised the damages to the owner or owners of the premises so found necessary to be taken, by reason of the taking of the same for the purpose specified. The city attorney shall thereupon make application to the judge of the circuit court or judge of the county court for Jackson county, briefly setting forth the fact, that the necessity for taking such premises has been so established by the verdict of a jury, and praying the appointment of three commissioners to appraise the damages of each and all of the several owners of such lands, and showing the amount of land, giving the metes and bounds thereof, the purpose for which the same is to be taken, and the names of the several owners so far as the same are known to the city attorney. Five days' notice of the time and place when such application will be presented to such judge, accompanied with a copy of such application, shall then be served on each owner in the cases, when required, and in the manner provided in section 55 of this act. At the time and place designated, such judge shall hear all parties interested who appear, and shall appoint three disinterested and reputable freeholders of said county as such commissioners, by his order in writing, to ascertain and appraise the compensation to be made to the owners of, or persons interested in, the land so found necessary to be taken, and fix the time and place for the first meeting of said commissioners.

mine value of

SECTION 62. If there should be any building Shall deterstanding, in whole or in part, upon the lands to be building. taken, the commissioners before proceeding to make their assessment, shall first estimate and determine the whole value of such building to the owner aside from the value of the land and the injury to him in having such building taken from him; and secondly, the value of such building to

remove.

given.

SECTION 63. At least ten days personal notice Notice to be of such determination shall be given to the owner or his agent, if known and a resident of the city, or left at his usual place of abode. If not

May sell building.

Commissioners

known or a non-resident, notice to all persons interested shall be given by publication in the official paper three successive weeks; such notice shall specify the building and the award of the commissioners. It shall also require the parties interested to appear by a day therein named, or give notice of their election to the common council, either to accept the award of the commissioners, and allow such building to be taken, with the lands appropriated, or their intention to remove such building, at the rate set thereon by the commissioners to remove. If the owner shall agree to remove such building, he shall have such time for this purpose as the common council shall allow.

SECTION 64. If the owner refuse to take the building at the value to remove, or fail to give notice of his election as aforesaid within the time prescribed, the council shall have power to direct the sale of such building at public auction, for cash giving ten days notice of such sale. The proceeds shall be paid to the owner or deposited for him in the city treasury.

SECTION 65. The commissioners shall take and shall take and subscribe the oath prescribed by the twenty-eighth section of the fourth article of the constitution, before entering on the discharge of their duties. A majority of them may adjourn the proceedings before them from time to time in their discretion. They shall cause notice to be given to each party interested of the time when, and the place where, they will meet to consider the amount of compensation to which he is entitled, which notice shall be personally served on such party, or his authorized agent or attorney, or by leaving the same at his residence or place of business, with a person of suitable age and discretion, at least six days before the time of such meeting. If such party is a non-resident of this state or his residence is unknown, and he has no authorized agent or attorney in this state, such notice shall be published in a newspaper as aforesaid, for such length of time as the court or judge appointing said commissioners shall direct. The commissioners shall file a proof of such notices, or of the appearance of such parties before them, either personally or by attorney, with their report. But it shall not be necessary to serve or publish notice of any subsequent meeting held pursuant to adjournment.