R.I. Gen. Laws § 39-15-6
Upon the filing of any certificate, the clerk shall forthwith issue a notice to the several persons named in the certificate which shall contain the substance of the certificate, and also a notice of a time and place when the persons may appear in the court and be heard in reference to the necessity for the taking and the appointment of commissioners to appraise the damages accruing to them by virtue of the taking of their property, estate, or rights of property; and the clerk shall, for four (4) successive weeks thereafter, cause to be advertised in each issue of some newspaper published in the county a copy of the notice, requiring all persons interested in the premises to appear at the time and place, if they see fit, to be heard in the premises. The personal notice upon known parties shall be served as soon as may be, and at least twenty (20) days, before the time of the hearing, by some officer authorized to serve process or by some disinterested person.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 39-15-6