Sec. 5. (a) The board of directors shall petition the board of commissioners of the county where the fence is to be located.

(b) The petition must do the following:

(1) Be signed by the owners of the major part of the improved land.

(2) Give a full description of the contemplated work, specifying particularly:

(A) the points of beginning and ending of the work;

(B) the course and distances of the work;

(C) the manner and character of the gates to be placed on all public highways crossed;

(D) the nature and character of the improvement;

(E) a detailed statement of the projected cost, as accurately as the projected cost can conveniently be stated; and

(F) the description of the area to be enclosed.

(3) Request the appointment of viewers to view and apportion among the owners of real estate in the area the cost of the improvement, and all expenses that:

(A) are incurred procuring the improvement; and

(B) are considered to be necessary in maintaining the improvement for one (1) year after the completion of the fence.

(c) The apportionment of the cost and expenses incurred under this chapter must be made according to the number of acres of land owned by each landowner that is improved and used for the purposes of cultivation, as described in section 6 of this chapter.

(d) The board of commissioners, on proof that the signers of the petition own the major part of the improved land in the area, shall hear and consider the petition. If the board of commissioners decides the improvement is a public utility and is in the best interests of the owners of the lands in the area, the board of commissioners shall appoint three (3) viewers.

(e) The viewers, who may not be members of the association or interested in the proposed work, shall make the apportionments described in subsection (b)(3) among the landowners.

(f) The viewers shall be furnished:

(1) a copy of the plan and profile of the proposed work; and

(2) a certified copy of the order of the board of commissioners for their appointment.

(g) The viewers shall meet at a time and place in the area to make the apportionment as fixed by the board of commissioners.

(h) Before the apportionment begins, the owners of improved land in the area are entitled to notice of the time when and place where the viewers will begin the examination of lands and the apportionment of assessments by written or printed notices posted at the door of the courthouse of the county and five (5) public places in the area.

[Pre-2002 Recodification Citation: 32-10-1-5.]

As added by P.L.2-2002, SEC.11.