Commissioners shall appoint clerk. Duties of clerk. Appointed ofacers may be removed. Conflicting laws repealed. demeanor and fined two dollars or imprisoned not more than five days. Sec. 42. The said commissioners shall at their first meeting appoint a clerk, who shall hold office for one year, or until his successor is appointed and qualified. It shall be his duty to attend all meetings of the board, to keep a full and accurate record of the same, in a book provided by said board of commissioners for such purpose, and to sign all town orders and bonds as hereinafter provided. Said clerk, and any other appointed officers of said town, may be removed at any time for incompetency, misbehavior, neglect of duty, or other good cause by said board of commissioners, which alone shall be the judge of such incompetency, misbehavior, neglect of duty or other cause of removal, and shall appoint others in their stead, to fill out their said terms respectively, upon such removal. Sec. 43. That all laws and clauses of laws in conflict with this act are hereby repealed. Sec. 44. That this act shall be in force from and after its ratification. Ratified the 28th day of February, A. D. 1899. Chapter 40, pri vate laws of 1885, amended. Aldermen em CHAPTER 168. An act to amend the charter of the town of Statesville. The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact : Section 1. That an act of the general assembly, entitled "An act to amend the charter of the town of Statesville," being chapter forty of the private laws of North Carolina of the year eighteen hundred and eighty-five, be amended as follows: Strike out section forty-one of the said act and insert the following in lieu thereof: Sec. 2. (1) That the board of aldermen shall have power to powered to make grade macadamize and pave the sidewalks of the said city, to certain improve ments on streets. lay out and open new streets or extend or widen those already opened, and to make such improvements thereon as the public conveniences may require. Aldermen may purchase necessary land. (2) That when in the opinion of the board of aldermen any land or right-of-way shall be required for the purpose of opening new streets or of extending or widening those already open, or for other objects allowed by this charter or by this act now made a part of the charter, the city may purchase the same from the owner or owners thereof and pay such compensation therefor as may be agreed upon; or at the option of the city, the same may be taken at a valuation to be made by four freeholders, residents of the city, to be appointed in the following manner, to-wit: Two to be selected by the property owner and two to be appointed by the mayor or board of aldermen. In the event that these four can Assessment of land by arbitranot agree, they shall select one additional freeholder, resident in tors the city. The award of the commission or freeholders, or any three of them, shall be final when reduced to writing and filed with the city clerk. (3) If any one of the said commissioners should own, control or When commis sioner appointed be interested in the land upon or over which any street is pro- is interested in posed to be condemned, widened, extended, improved or used land assessed. for public purposes as provided in this act, the mayor and board of aldermen may appoint another freeholder of said city not so interested, who shall qualify and act in his stead in the particular case in which such interest or disqualification exists; and upon a written challenge, made by any land owner whose property is to be taken, to any commissioner appointed by the town on the ground of interest, if such interest is found to exist, then the mayor and board of aldermen shall select another commissioner. But when any substitute is appointed on account of the removal of any commissioner on the ground of interest, the town shall have the right to provide a substitute for such commissioners as it may have selected who are interested, and the land owner shall have the right to select his substitute for any commissioner thus disqualified. Mayor may fill vacancies caused by failure to (4) That the mayor may fill all vacancies caused by failure to qualify, resignation or otherwise of such commissioners as are appointed by the town, and the land owner shall fill all vacan- qualify. cies caused for like reasons of any commissioner appointed by him: Provided, such land owner fills such vacancy within five Proviso. days. otherwise the mayor and board of aldermen may fill such vacancy, and the four commissioners shall fill any vacancy of the fifth man for failure to qualify, resignation or otherwise: Provided, if any appointee shall refuse to qualify or serve, unless excused or relieved by the mayor and board of aldermen, he shall be subjected to a penalty of fifty dollars, to be recovered as other penalties before the mayor or a justice of the peace. land. (5) When it is proposed to condemn any land or property for Condemnation o the purposes herein specified it shall be done by an order or resolution of the board of aldermen at a regular or special meeting of the board, stating generally, or as near as may be, the nature of the improvements for which the land is required, whether wanted in fee simple or an easement therein, and directing the said commissioners of valuation and assessment to proceed to assess the damages to the property to be taken, on a day to be named in the order or resolutions or at such time as the commis Five days' notice sioners may appoint. Not less than five days' notice of the time of required. meeting of the said commissioners shall be issued by the mayor or the commissioners and served by one of the police of the said city by reading the same to the land owner to be notified, or by leaving a copy of the notice with him or with his agent or with some adult at his residence. Commissioners shall meet at ap pointed time and assess damages. Report may be set aside. Town shall pay When amount assessed is not paid owner of fand within twelve months. (6) The said commissioners shall, at the appointed time, meet upon the lands to be condemned and view the same and assess the damages to be paid to the owner or party entitled thereto. In making such valuation and assessment the commissioners shall take into consideration the loss or damage that may accrue to the owner by reason of the land or right-of-way being surrendered, and also any benefit or advantage such owner will receive from the opening, extending or widening of the street or the use of the property for any improvements made thereon, and shall ascertain the amount of loss or damage in excess of the said benefit or advantage, if any, or the value or amount of such benefit or advantage in excess of loss or damage, if any, and they shall report the result in writing to the board of aldermen. The board may refuse to take the property upon the assessment of damages made by the commissioners, in which case the report may be set aside, and the title to the land shall remain in the owner until further proceedings are had to condemn the same in accordance with the provisions of this act: Provided, if the board refuse to take the property upon the assessment of damages, the town shall pay all the costs of the commissioners in making the assessment. (7) That in order to ascertain what improvements should be made to the streets and sidewalks, or in or upon any lands for any of the public improvements provided for in this act, and how much land or property will be required to be taken for streets, sidewalks, waterworks, sewerage, gas, electric lights or any other public improvements. the board of aldermen may cause such surveys as they may deem necessary to be made upon the lands to be taken or condemned. (8) That if the amount assessed upon any land is not paid by the owner thereof within twelve months after the assessment is made, and notice thereof is served upon him, or demand made for the payment of the amount assessed, the same may be recovered and the said lien enforced by a civil action, to be brought in the superior court of Iredell county, for the sale of the property which is thus subject to the lien and for such other relief as may be appropriate to the case. If any person whose land or rights are affected by the proceedings under this section, or the alder men of said city are dissatisfied with the award of the commissioners, then in that case either party may appeal to the next term of the superior court of Iredell county: Provided, however, Either party that such appeal shall not hinder or delay the aldermen in openmay appeal. ing or widening such street or using the property for constructing or erecting any public improvements for the benefit of the city as in any of the sections herein provided. served. Sec. 3. That where any notice required to be given by the Notice on nonresidents, how charter of said city or any amendment thereof, and the person to be notified is a non-resident of Iredell county, the notice may be served by the sheriff or other lawful officer of any county in which the said person may be, and if the said person is a non resident of the state the notice may be served by publication thereof once a week for four weeks in a newspaper published in the city of Statesville, and the affidavit of the publisher, proprietor or foreman of said paper that said notice was so published shall be prima facie proof of such publication, and the time of notice shall be counted from the last day on which the notice was inserted in said newspaper. Value of benefit arising from opening streets to to land or lot be assessed against it. assessment shall Sec. 4. The value of any benefit or advantage to any lot or land arising from the opening, extending widening or improving any street and making any of the other improvements in any of the sections herein provided for and accruing to said lot or land in common with other lots or lands similarly situated may be assessed by the said commissioners against the lots so benefited, and shall be a lien thereon, and the payment therefor may be en Amount of such forced as provided in this act. The amount of said assessment be kept separateshall be stated separately in the report of the commissioners, and ly in report. such common benefit derived by any lot or land shall not be considered in assessing damages to be paid to any land owner or in ascertaining the excess of any benefit over loss or damage under this act. And when any land for any public improvements shall be condemned for the use of the city, according to the provisions of the foregoing or subsequent sections, and the same has been accepted by the aldermen, the report of the commissioners, when Record of land the same has been made final and spread upon the records of the so condemned and purchased town by the city clerk, containing a description of the property shall be made. condemned to the uses of the city, shall thereupon vest the title to the same in fee simple where such title is contemplated by the assessment or the title to the easement and use thereof where such title is contemplated, as the case may be: Provided, that Proviso. any special improvement made upon the streets already established and for which assessments are made against the land owner shall be limited to the sidewalks, unless otherwise agreed between the land owner and the town, and when such improve- Special improvement is made the town shall pay one-half the costs therefor and ments on streets. the land owner the other half of the costs, unless otherwise agreed. Section 20 of said act amended. Aldermen authorized to construct and maintain system of waterworks. Sewerage. Gas and electric lights Aldermen empowered to take land on which water flows. Said streams, etc., may be condemned if price can not be agreed upon. Proviso. When use of land is discontinued city may remove property thereon. Sec. 5. That section twenty of the said act to amend the charter of the town of Statesville is hereby amended so as to add to the said section after the last word, "necessary," the following: "The board of aldermen of the said city are authorized and empowered to construct and maintain for the said city a system of waterworks and sewerage for the purpose of supplying the inhabitants thereof a public system of water supply and a public. system of drainage and sewerage, and they are further authorized to furnish and supply the inhabitants of the said city a system of gas and electric lights, one or both, and to this end they are hereby fully authorized and empowered to enter upon and hold for the purposes of this act and for the purposes of any other public improvements necessary for the health and well being of the said city, hitherto or hereafter established, so much of the water of any stream or springs within ten miles of the city of Statesville and such land over or through which it is proposed to construct ditches, reservoirs, necessary buildings hydrants, fixtures, lay pipes, manholes or other necessary appliances, or to construct roads for the purpose of surveying, running or laying out the lines thereof; they are authorized to take title in fee or title for the easement, to the town for any land for any of the purposes aforesaid upon such price as may be agreed upon between the owner and the board of aldermen; but if it shall be found that the owner or owners of any such stream or land can not agree upon a price to be paid by the city for the right-of-way or use thereof for the purpose of erecting and establishing reservoirs, conduits, mains, supply pipes or any other appliances necessary for the construction of the improvements aforesaid or any of them, then the said springs and streams and lands may be condemned to the uses of the city agreeably to the provisions of the foregoing sections for the condemnation of lands for street improvements. And for the purpose of successfully operating any of the said improvements aforesaid the aldermen of the city are fully authorized to extend the lines of any of the said systems of improvements in any direction thought most advisable and to this end the board of aldermen, for the purposes of this act shall have the same powers with regard to streams and lands beyond the corporate limits of the town as they have with regard to those within the corporate limits of the town: Provided, however, that in case of discontinuance of the use of the land (where the city only acquires an easement therein) either for the purposes mentioned in this act or in the charter or upon reverter to the owners, the city shall have the right to remove any property or im provements erected under its authority upon the land: Provided, that the land owner over whose lands the town seeks an easement or right-of-way, or seeks to obtain title therefor, and which |