Arkansas Code Title 18. Property § 18-15-303. Application--Notice--Deposits

(a)(1) When it shall be deemed necessary by any municipal corporation to enter upon or take private property for a permitted purpose, an application in writing shall be made to the circuit court of the proper county, or the judge thereof in vacation, describing as correctly as may be the property to be taken, the object proposed, and the name of the owner of each lot or parcel thereof.

(2) Notice of the time and place of the application shall be given either personally in the ordinary manner of serving process or by publishing a copy of the application with a statement of the time and place at which it is to be made. Notice shall be published for three (3) weeks preceding the time of the application in some newspaper of general circulation in the county.

(b)(1) When the determination of questions in controversy in the proceedings is likely to retard the progress of construction, the court, or judge in vacation, shall designate an amount of money to be deposited by the municipal corporation, subject to the order of the court and for the purpose of making the compensation and paying damages when the amount thereof has been assessed. The court or judge shall designate the place of the deposit.

(2) Whenever a deposit has been made in compliance with the order of the court or judge, it shall be lawful for the municipal corporation to enter upon the lands in controversy and proceed with its work of construction prior to the assessment and payment of damages and compensation.