§ 50-33. Construction and repair of sidewalks.

(a)

Authority of commission; notice to owners to construct; width, grade. The town commission shall, as it may deem proper, pass resolutions requiring the owners of real estate within the corporate limits of the town to construct uniform and substantial sidewalks around their several lots and to keep them in repair. The width and grade and construction of the sidewalks on each street shall be regulated by the town commission, and the inner line of sidewalks shall in all cases be the outer line of the street such as may have been established by the surveyors in platting the town.

(b)

Failure of owner to comply with notice; work to be done by town; cost; lien.

(1)

Upon the passing of any such resolution as provided for in subsection (a) of this section, the town clerk shall cause written notice of the passage to be served upon the owner or the agent of the owner of each parcel of land abutting upon such sidewalk by registered or certified mail with return receipt; and if the owner of such property is not a resident of the town, any person charged with the collections of rents or the payment of taxes on the property, or having control in any way, shall be regarded as the agent of the owner, and service upon such person shall have the like effect and force as though personal service were made upon the owner. If it appears by any such return receipt, however, that the owner is a nonresident or that neither such owner or agent could be found, one publication of a copy of the resolution in a newspaper of general circulation in the county shall be deemed sufficient notice to the owner.

(2)

If such sidewalks shall not be constructed or repaired by the owner of the abutting property within 60 days after the service of the notice provided for in this subsection or the publication of the notice, the town commission may, by direct employment of labor or by contract, construct or repair such sidewalks at the expense of the owner, and the cost of such construction or repair shall be charged against the owner and against the land abutting such sidewalks, and shall be a lien upon the land from that date and shall draw interest from the date of the completion of such sidewalk until final payment, at the rate of eight percent per annum; and such assessment shall be collected in the same manner as is provided for the collection of special assessments for street paving; and if it should become necessary to foreclose the lien, there shall be assessed, as a part of the costs of foreclosure, a reasonable attorney's fee.

(c)

Requirements as to materials; width. No sidewalk shall be constructed on any of the public streets within the corporate limits of the town of other material than cement, concrete, brick or such material as may be approved by the town commission, nor shall such sidewalks be built of less width than four feet.

(d)

Approval of town commission required. All sidewalks constructed within the corporate limits of the town shall be subject to the approval of the town commission and must meet the standards and requirements specified by the town commission.

(Code 1999, § 58-45)