The City of Mexia shall have exclusive dominion, control and jurisdiction in, upon, over and under the public streets, avenues, alleys and highways of the city, and to provide for the improvement thereof by paving, raising, grading, draining or otherwise, and to charge the cost of making such improvement against the abutting property, by fixing a lien against the same and a personal charge against the owner thereof, according to an assessment specially levied therefor, in an amount not to exceed the special benefit any such property received in enhanced value by reason of such improvements, and to provide for the issuance of assignable certificates covering the payment for said improvements; providing that in no event shall more than three-fourths of the cost of such improvement be charged to the owner and made a lien against said abutting property; it being further provided that all street railways, steam railways, and other railways shall pay the entire cost of improving said streets, avenues, alleys and highways between the rails and tracks of any such railway companies, and for a distance of two (2) feet on each side thereof.
Said city shall have the power to provide for the construction and building of sidewalks and to charge a pro rata cost of the construction of said sidewalks, including the curb, against the owner of the abutting property and to make a special charge against the owner for such cost, and to provide by special assessment, a lien against such property for such cost; provided, however, that in no event shall more than three-fourths of the cost of such improvement be charged to the owner and be made a lien against said abutting properties.
Said city shall have the power to provide for the construction, improvement or repair of any such sidewalks, or the construction of any such curb, and to declare defective sidewalks to be a public nuisance.
Franchises shall be granted only for indeterminate periods, reserving to the city the right to purchase at a fair value, the franchise and property of the corporation at the end of the first ten (10) years, and at the termination of every five (5) years thereafter.
Said city shall have the power and authority to grant franchises for the use and occupancy of streets, avenues, alleys and any and all public grounds belonging to or under the control of the city. No telegraph, telephone, electric light or power, street railway, interurban railway, steam railway, gas company, waterworks, water systems or any other character of public utility shall be granted any franchise or permitted the use of any street, avenue, alley, highway or grounds of the city without first making application to and obtaining the consent of the governing authorities thereto, as proposed by ordinance, and upon paying such compensation as may be prescribed and upon such conditions as may be provided for by such ordinance, and before such ordinance proposing to make any grant or franchise or privilege to any applicant to use or occupy any streets, avenues, alley or any other public ground belonging to or under control of the city, shall become effective, publication of said ordinance as finally proposed to be passed, shall be made in some newspaper published in the City of Mexia, once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks, which publication shall be made at the expense of the applicant desiring said grant and said proposed ordinance shall not be thereafter changed unless again republished as in the first instance, nor shall any such ordinance take effect or become a law or contract or vest any rights in the applicant therefor, until after the expiration of thirty (30) days from the last publication of said ordinance, as aforesaid.
Said city shall have the power to open, extend, straighten and widen any public street, avenue or alley, and for such purpose to acquire the necessary land by purchase or condemnation. Such condemnation, if any, shall be in the same manner and subject to the same laws and regulation as is now provided by the statutes and laws of the State of Texas.
Said city shall have the power to control, regulate and remove all obstructions, encroachments and encumbrances on any public street, avenue, alley, and to narrow, alter, widen, straighten, vacate, abandon and close same; to provide for sprinkling and cleaning same, and to regulate and control the moving of buildings and structures of every kind and character upon and along the same.
Said city shall have exclusive control over all city parks, and playgrounds and to control, regulate and remove all obstructions and prevent all encroachment, thereupon; and to provide for raising, grading, filling, terracing, landscape gardening, erecting buildings, providing amusement therein, for establishing walks and paving driveways around, in and through said parks, playgrounds and other public grounds.