§ 14-117-202 - Petition for establishment -- Engineer and survey -- Bond. - Arkansas Statutes

14-117-202. Petition for establishment -- Engineer and survey -- Bond.

(a) It shall be the duty of the court to enter upon its record an order appointing an engineer to be selected by the petitioners when a majority in number of the owners, exclusive of the owners of real property in incorporated towns or cities, of the lands or the owners of a majority in value of the lands, exclusive of the owners of real property in incorporated towns or cities, as shown by the last assessment of real property within a proposed district shall:

(1) Petition the chancery or circuit court to establish a district to embrace their property:

(A) Describing generally the region which it is intended shall be included within the district.

(B) Setting forth:

(i) The proposed name of the district;

(ii) The purpose or purposes of the district;

(iii) The general nature of the work to be done;

(iv) The necessity of the work;

(v) The feasibility of the work; and

(vi) The estimated cost of the project, as then estimated by those filing the petition from information they have at the time, with reasonable detail and definiteness in order that the court may understand the purpose, utility, feasibility, and need or necessity for the project; and

(2) File a good bond to pay for the expenses of survey of the proposed district, in case the district is not formed.

(b) The engineer selected by the petitioners shall be a suitable person, and if not, an engineer shall be named who is satisfactory to the court.

(c) The engineer shall give bond in a sum not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) to be fixed by the court for the faithful discharge of his duties. He shall be liable upon such bonds for negligence or incompetency causing loss to the district.

(d) The engineer shall forthwith proceed to make a survey and ascertain the limits of the region which would be benefited by the proposed improvements.

(e) The engineer shall file with the chancery or circuit clerk a report showing the territory which will be benefited by the proposed improvements, giving a general idea of its character and expense, and making suggestions as to the proposed improvements and their location as he may deem advisable.

(f) The territory need not consist of contiguous parcels of land.

(g) All expenses incident to the survey and the cost of publication shall be paid by the county or counties in the ratio and proportion of benefits assessed to lands in the respective counties as the work progressed upon proper showing; but all expenses incurred by the county or counties in the creation of any district shall, upon the creation of the district, be reimbursed to the county or counties out of the proceeds of the first revenues collected by the district.