Chap. 731.—An ACT to provide for the making and keeping in repair the roads
and bridges of Charlotte county.

Approved March 4, 1896.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That the
board of supervisors of Charlotte county shall take charge of and
have worked and kept in repair all the public roads and bridges
heretofore and hereafter established within the limits of said county,
and shall have full and exclusive power to open new roads, locate
and establish new bridges and change and discontinue existing roads
and bridges; and for this purpose the said board of supervisors are
authorized and empowered to appropriate, out of the general county
levy, whatever amount of money they may deem necessary, and at
their annual meeting, when the levy for county purposes is laid,
they shall provide in said levy for said amount of money; provided
that the sum to be so provided or expended under this act in any
one year shall not exceed twenty cents on the hundred dollars of
the taxable value of said county.

2. That the board of supervisors may appoint one or more, but not
more than five, freeholders of said county, who shall be known as
road commissioners, and whose duties shall be such as are herein-
after designated, and such other duties as the board of supervisors
shall require of them; their compensation shall be fixed by the said
board, but shall not exceed two dollars per day for the time they are
actually employed in rendering the service required of them. They
shall continue to serve during the pleasure of the board of super-
visors.

3. That the several magisteral districts in said county as now laid
off shall constitute the several road districts of the county; but the
poard of supervisors may at any time change or subdivide these dis-
Ticts and subdivide any road into sections. All the work of repair
and improvement shall be equitably apportioned to the roads of the
several road districts in proportion to the estimated road mileage in
he several districts so far as may be practicable.

4. That the board of supervisors shall determine in what manner
she roads of the several road districts, or the several sections of roads
yr parts thereof, shall be worked, and the bridges repaired and built.
They may let to contract the work on any or all of said roads and
oridges, or they may employ competent managers and laborers, and
ourchase or hire the necessary machines, implements, tools, horses
2nd mules to work any and all of the roads and repair and build any
and all bridges. They may, if they deem it practicable, secure and
itilize the labor of penitentiary convicts and prisoners in the county
jail in the work of repairing roads and bridges, or any of them, and
they may make all the provisions necessary to secure and use said
convicts and prisoners.

5. That the board of supervisors may, whenever they deem it pro-
per, cause any or all of said roads and bridges to be inspected by one
or more commissioners to ascertain the condition of the same, the
repairs needed, the probable cost of such work, the best method of
making said repairs, the manner in which the work on said roads
and bridges has been executed, and the expediency of changing or
discontinuing any of said roads and bridges, and said board may
likewise appoint a committee of its number to make any such
examination. .

6. That the board of supervisors, when they shall have determined
to let to contract the work of repairing or keeping in order any
road or bridge, erecting any new bridge, changing any existing road,
or opening a new road, shall prepare, or cause to be prepared by one
of its commissioners, full and complete specifications of the work to
be let to contract, and shall advertise the time and place of letting
the same for at least ten days by publication in a newspaper circu-
lated in the county, or by hand-bills posted in the vicinity of the
work to be done and at three or more public places in the county.
All proposals for said work shall be in writing, and the contract for
such work shal! be let to the lowest responsible bidder, but the said
board of supervisors shall be at liberty to reject any and all of said
bids. The said board of supervisors may require of any bidder a
bond, with security to be approved by them, in a penalty equal to
the amount of his bid, payable to the board of supervisors, condi-
tioned to secure the prompt and proper performance of his contract,
and in all cases where the contract price of work exceeds two hun-
dred dollars they shall require such bond of the contractor before
letting the contract to him. When a contractor for any such work
shall have executed such a bond the board of supervisors may pay
for the work as it progresses, but they shall at no time pay more than
seventy-five per centum of the value of work actually accomplished
by the contractor, and shall reserve the remaining twenty-five per
centum of the value of such work until the same is completed to the
satisfaction of the board. On contracts for which no sufficient bond
has been given by the contractor the board of supervisors shall make
no payment until the work thereunder has been properly completed.
Before or after bids for any work to be let to contract has been
received by the board of supervisors, and before letting said work
to contract, they may, if they deem it expedinet, cause said work
to be examined by one or more of the commissioners, and hear the
testimony of witnesses to ascertain if the acceptance of any of said
bids will be advantageous.

7. Every employee of the board of supervisors engaged under this
act to whom is paid any money for disbursement shall, before
receiving the same, enter into bond, with security to be ap-
proved by the board of supervisors, in a penalty at least equal to
the largest sum to be so received by him, conditioned to secure
the proper application of and accounting for said money. He
shall be required to render account and exhibit vouchers for all
receipts and disbursements at least once a month, or oftener if
required by the board, and no such employee shall be paid any fur-
ther or other sum for disbursements until he has so accounted for
the money theretofore received by him. Every such employee te
whom is delivered any implements and tools or other property of the
county shall receipt for the same and shall be responsible for the
value thereof until and unless he shall return the same.

8. That when board of supervisors deem it proper to inquire into
the expediency of discontinuing any road or portions of a road, or
any bridge now existing or established, they shall give notice of the
time and place of such inquiry by publication in some newspaper
circulated in the county or by hand-bills posted at five or more
places on the route of said road so to be discontinued or on which
the bridge to be so discontinued is located, not less than ten days before
such inquiry is held. The board of supervisors shall, in the con-
duct of such inquiry, hear all evidence in favor of and against such
discontinuance and make such order as they may deem proper in the
premises. If any person shall consider himself aggrieved by such
order of the board of supervisors he may appeal to the county court,
but in no such case shall a judgment for the cost of appeal or other
cost be rendered against said board or any of the members thereof;
provided, however, that any such discontinuance of any road or
bridge shall not be deemed an abandonment or relinquishment by
the county of the right of way over the route of said road, or of any
other right in the premises. Any road or bridge so discontinued
may be re-opened and re-established by the board of supervisors by
a vote of the majority of all its members.

9. All applications to open and establish new roads and bridges
and to change the location of roads and bridges now existing shall
be made to the board of supervisors, whose decisions in such matters
shall be in accordance with the law now in force, except in so far as
it is amended by this act. When any such application is made, or
when the board deems it probably expedient to change the location
of any existing road or part thereof or bridge, they shall cause an ex-
amination to be made by one or more of the commissioners of the
route of the new road, or proposed route of the existing road, to as-
certain the expediency and probable cost of and damage to land
Owners incident to the opening of such new road or change of exist-
ing road. Before said commissioners shall assess the damages for
lands to be taken for any such road they shall give to the proprietor
or proprietors of such lands not less than five days’ notice of the
time when they will go upon the premises to make such assessment
of damages. In making such assessment the said commissioners
shall] take into consideration the advantages to accrue to such pro-
prietor by reason of the opening or changing of such road. If the
proprietor or proprietors of lands so to be taken for such road pur-
poses refuse to accept as compensation for damages to their lands the
sums assessed by the commissioners the board of supervisors may
either decline to open such new road or change such existing road or
bridge, or they may, through the commonwealth’s attorney, apply to
the county court to have the lands necessary for such road purposes
assessed and condemned in the manner now provided by law. If the
damage for such lands as ascertained by the county court shall be
deemed by the board of supervisors to be excessive, they may refuse
to open such new road or to change such existing road or bridge, and
no damage to a proprietor of such lands shall be due or payable by the
board of supervisors unless and until they shall establish such new
road or change such existing road or bridge.

10. The commonwealth’s attorney of the county shall attend all
meetings of the board of supervisors when matters appertaining to
the public roads are acted on; shall prepare all contracts made by or
with the board, and examine all bonds required or taken by the
board under this act; scrutinize all accounts presented to the board
for labor, services, supplies, and material furnished for road pur-
poses, and take all necessary and proper action to protect the inter-
ests of the county in all such matters. He shall, when required by
the board, institute legal proceedings on any and all bonds and con-
tracts on which a liability has been incurred by the obligors and
contractor, and shall render to the board of supervisors all reasona-
ble services and assistance that shall be required of him by the
board.

11. All notices required by this act to be served or posted shall be
served and posted by the sheriff of the county.

12. If the proper discharge of the duties imposed upon them by
this act shall require that the board of supervisors shall meet more
than the ten days for which compensation is now provided by law, then
for each additional meeting the members of said board shall receive
the same per diem compensation and mileage as now allowed them;
but no member of said board of supervisors shall receive such addi-
tional compensation and mileage for more than five days in any one

ear.

13. All acts heretofore passed by the general assembly in reference
to the public roads of Charlotte county, and all acts or part of acts
inconsistent with the provisions of this act, are hereby repealed.

14. This act shall be in force from its passage.