48-551. Appointment of appraisers; revision of compensation and damages
A. The governing body, upon entering its order to proceed, or at any time thereafter in its discretion, shall appoint one appraiser or three appraisers who shall be persons having knowledge of real estate values in the municipality and who shall proceed to revise the compensation and damages to be awarded for taking each of the parcels of land proposed to be taken for public purposes. In revising such compensation and damages the appraisers shall follow the provisions of section 48-512, except that all compensation and damages to be ascertained by them shall be deemed to have accrued on the date of the hearing provided for by section 48-549, and that there shall be allowed as a part of the value of the property to be taken the value of street improvements placed on the property after the date of the original estimate of compensation and damages in contemplation of the opening or widening of the street.
B. The appraisers shall make a list of all parcels of land proposed to be taken, describing them by legal or other definite description and set opposite the description of each parcel the separate items of compensation and damages provided for by section 48-512, and shall add thereto as a separate item the value of street improvements, if any thereon, for which compensation is authorized by this article.
C. The allowance for street improvements shall be included in the assessment for benefits and in the amount of the bonds that may be issued, but shall not be paid unless and until similar improvements on the major portion of the property taken for public use under the proceedings have been made or contracted to be made without cost or without being assessed to the owners of adjoining property.
D. If similar improvements on the major portion of the property taken under the proceedings are assessed against the owners of adjoining property, the items allowed for such street improvements shall be canceled.
E. The list when completed shall be certified by the appraiser or a majority of the board of appraisers and filed with the superintendent of streets.