129. Keeping in repair sidewalks and curbs, and cleaning the same and keeping them free from snow and ice.

130. Construction and relaying of sidewalks and curb

stones.

131. Changing name of street.

132. Designation of street numbers.

133. Water and gas mains; telephone and electric light wires.

134. Sewer connections.

§ 107. The common council to be deemed highway commissioners. The common council shall be commissioners of highways in and for said city and shall have all of the powers and discharge all of the duties of commissioners of highways in towns in this state except as otherwise provided by this act. The city of Rensselaer is hereby declared a separate highway district.

108. Improvements payable wholly or partially by general or local assessments. It shall be lawful for the common council to order and direct the reducing, excavating, filling, leveling, pitching, grading, planking, paving, macadamizing or covering with concrete, asphalt, brick, stone, wood, gravel, sand or other material any of the streets, sidewalks, wharves, docks, roads, avenues, parks, open courts, squares, places, alleys or lanes in said city and the making or repairing of any bridges, viaducts, wharves, docks, sewers, gutters, sidewalks, curbings, culverts or arches in said city and the improving of channels, enclosing, covering, discontinuing and altering the course of all creeks, streams and ponds in said city and the laying or repairing of gas and water mains and of service and house connection pipes from the sewer, gas and water mains in said city. But no paving, repairing with macadam or asphalt shall be done in any street, highway or public place until the gas and water mains and sewers have been laid therein or provided therefor and service and house connection pipes and the same laid in front of each separate lot or piece of property to a point within the sidewalk or curb line.

Except as by this act otherwise provided the entire expense of the improvements above specified will be assessed and apportioned as herein provided.

The proportionate expense of such improvements upon any street, highway or public place so improved between two parallel lines to be drawn two feet outside each of the outside lines of the

track or tracks of any street railway located therein shall be ascertained and the same shall be apportioned and assessed against the owner or owners thereof.

The expense of laying and repairing service and house connection pipes and gas and water mains and sewers shall be apportioned and assessed against the owner or owners of the property abutting on such improvement, except that when such gas and water mains are not owned by the city, then the expense of laying and repairing such service and house connection pipes from such gas and water mains shall be apportioned and assessed against the owner or owners of such gas and water mains as the case may be.

The expense of repairing pavements and the expense of repairing and ordinary work of all streets shall be paid by the city out of the street fund.

The expense of laying new pavements in said city except the part to be paid by the owner or owners of any street railway as hereinbefore provided with granite, asphalt, brick, macadam or other material, including all grading and preparation of street therefor and the construction of bridges, arches, viaducts, gutters, culverts and sewers and the cost of acquiring real estate, rights and easements for such bridges, arches, viaducts, gutters, culverts and sewers shall be made by general assessment of all the taxable property and all persons in said city provided, however, that property which has already been separately or specifically assessed for granite, block or asphalt pavement laid prior to April fifth, nineteen hundred and one, shall be assessed in such general assessment for any new pavements only to the amount which would properly be assessed upon such property for such new pavements after deducting therefrom the amount actually paid upon such assessment for such granite block or asphalt pavements laid prior to April fifth, nineteen hundred and one, and that property which has already been separately or specifically assessed for sewer or sewers constructed prior to December thirty-first, nineteen hundred and two, shall be assessed in such general assessment for new sewers only to the amount which would properly be assessed upon such property for such new sewers after deducting therefrom the amount actually paid upon such assessment for such sewer or sewers constructed prior to December thirty-first, nineteen hundred and two.

When the grade of a street has once been established by the city and such grade recorded and conformed to in the making of local improvements, any change in the grade therefor, in so far

as any expense is incurred therein and to that extent only, must be made at the expense of the city at large.

§ 109. Declaration of intention to make local improvement. Any expenditures for local improvements in said city except as to curbing and sidewalks, the expense of which is to be defrayed wholly or partly by local assessment, shall not be incurred unless the common council shall by resolution declare its intention to make such local improvement.

§ 110. District of assessment. After the common council shall declare its intention to make such local improvement except as to curbing and sidewalks before ordering the same done, the common council shall order a district of assessment which shall contain all of the property which in the judgment of the common council is likely to be benefited by the local improvement and may at any time enlarge such district and cause notices to be published and served upon all persons within such enlargement.

§ 111. Special provisions as to sewers. The common council may order a sewer for the drainage of streets, cellars, buildings, lots, pools, vaults and other proper sewerage purposes, to be constructed in any street, and, with the consent of the owners in, upon or across any real property outside of a street. If the common council shall declare its intention to construct any sewer in, upon or across the real property outside the streets of said city and the owners of such real property shall not consent thereto and the city is unable to agree with the owners of such real property upon the compensation to be made therefor, the common council in the name and behalf of the city may acquire the title, easement and right in and to such real property for such sewer by condemnation, in pursuance of the provisions of the condemnation law, chapter twenty-three of the code of civil procedure. The cost and expense of such condemnation proceedings together with the compensation determined shall be paid to the owner or owners of such real property for such title, easement and right so acquired.

§ 112. Notice of proposed improvement. If a district of assessment has been established, then upon the passage of a resolution by the common council declaring its intention to make local improvement the expense of which is payable wholly or partly by local assessment, the city clerk shall prepare and sign a written notice of the proposed improvement specifying therein the time which any person interested may file his objections thereto with the city clerk, which shall not expire before the next regular meeting of the common council, and in case no objection is so filed,

within the time so specified, all persons interested will be deemed to have acquiesced in the proposed improvement. Such notice shall either be published at least once in the official newspaper of the city at least ten days before the expiration of the time for objections thereto or shall be served upon each such owner of property within the district of assessment fixed for such improvement as follows: By delivering to him personally a copy thereof or by leaving a copy thereof at his residence in said city with some member of his family or some person of suitable age or discretion or if he resides elsewhere by service as above described upon his agent or other person having the property in charge or by depositing in the post office properly enclosed and postage prepaid thereon, directed to such owner at his last known place of residence. If there be two or more owners of any one piece of property, service on any one of them shall be sufficient notice to the owners of such piece of property. Affidavits of service and publication of such notice may be filed, or recorded, or both, in the office of the city clerk and the affidavits or record thereof or a certified copy of either shall in all courts and places, actions or proceedings be prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein.

§ 113. Objections to improvements and decisions thereon. Objections to such improvements must be made in writing and filed. with the city clerk within the time specified in such notice and the common council may at any regular meeting within two months after the expiration of such ten days, subject to the mayor's veto as in other cases, order the improvement to be made.

§ 114. Expense, by whom assessed. Upon the certificate of the city engineer that the work of such local improvement and the expense of which is to be defrayed wholly or partly by local assessment has been completed the common council shall direct the cost thereof be assessed by the city engineer or it may in its discretion direct the cost thereof to be assessed by the city assessors and it shall be the duty of the city engineer to immediately assess the cost of such local improvement upon the property lying within the district of assessment declared for such improvement in an equitable manner in as near as may be in proportion to the benefits which each owner of such property may be deemed to derive therefrom without reference to the erections or improvements thereon except as herein otherwise provided; the cost of any local improvement shall be deemed to include the entire expense thereof including the inspection except the engi

as any expense is incurred therein and to that extent only, must be made at the expense of the city at large.

§ 109. Declaration of intention to make local improvement. Any expenditures for local improvements in said city except as to curbing and sidewalks, the expense of which is to be defrayed wholly or partly by local assessment, shall not be incurred unless the common council shall by resolution declare its intention to make such local improvement.

§ 110. District of assessment. After the common council shall declare its intention to make such local improvement except as to curbing and sidewalks before ordering the same done, the common council shall order a district of assessment which shall contain all of the property which in the judgment of the common council is likely to be benefited by the local improvement and may at any time enlarge such district and cause notices to be published and served upon all persons within such enlargement.

§ 111. Special provisions as to sewers. The common council may order a sewer for the drainage of streets, cellars, buildings, lots, pools, vaults and other proper sewerage purposes, to be constructed in any street, and, with the consent of the owners in, upon or across any real property outside of a street. If the common council shall declare its intention to construct any sewer in, upon or across the real property outside the streets of said city and the owners of such real property shall not consent thereto and the city is unable to agree with the owners of such real property upon the compensation to be made therefor, the common council in the name and behalf of the city may acquire the title, easement and right in and to such real property for such sewer by condemnation, in pursuance of the provisions of the condemnation law, chapter twenty-three of the code of civil procedure. The cost and expense of such condemnation proceedings together with the compensation determined shall be paid to the owner or owners of such real property for such title, easement and right so acquired.

§ 112. Notice of proposed improvement. If a district of assessment has been established, then upon the passage of a resolution by the common council declaring its intention to make local improvement the expense of which is payable wholly or partly by local assessment, the city clerk shall prepare and sign a written notice of the proposed improvement specifying therein the time which any person interested may file his objections thereto with the city clerk, which shall not expire before the next regular meeting of the common council, and in case no objection is so filed,