Chap. 126.—An ACT to amend and re-enact an act to provide for the improve-
ment of public roads in Charlotte county, to authorize the issuance of
county bonds for the purpose and to apportion the proceeds of said bonds
among the several magisterial districts, and to provide for the authori-
zation of the issue of bonds by an election, approved March 11, 1908, add-
ing theerto sections 12%, 17% and 17a.

Approved March 10, 1910.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That an act to
provide for the improvement of public roads in Charlotte county, to
authorize the issuance of county bonds for the purpose and to apportion
the proceeds of said bonds among the several magisterial districts and
to provide for the authorization of the issue of bonds by an election,
approved March twelfth, nineteen hundred and eight, be amended and
re-enacted so as to read as follows: .

§1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That on the
application of the board of supervisors of Charlotte county, or on the
petition of one hundred or more of the qualified voters of said county,
who shall be freeholders of said county, the circuit court of said county
shall order a vote to be taken of the qualified voters of said county, at a
special election to be held on a day to be named in the order of the
court, which may be the same day that some general election is held, to
determine whether or not the county shall issue and sell its bonds for
the purpose of improving its public roads in the manner and under the
conditions hereinafter named.

The amount of bond issue shall be specified in the order of the court,
and shall not be more than two hundred thousand dollars nor less than
fifty thousand dollars: provided, however, that such order shall not be
entered by said court until and except it shall be made to appear to the
court that notice of the application to the court for such order has been
published at least once a week for four successive weeks in some news-
paper published in Charlotte county, or if there is no newspaper pub-
lished in the county, then by posting such notices at the front door of the
courthouse for four weeks. |

82. The ballots to be used at such election shall be prepared and
distributed by the electoral board as ballots are prepared and distributed
by them for general elections, and shall have printed on them “for issue
of bonds for road improvements,” and “against issue of bonds for road
improvement,” in separate lines, and the voter shall prepare his ballot
in accordance with the provisions of the general law. On said ballots
ghall be printed the names of candidates for road commissioners for the
several magisterial districts, as hereinafter provided for.

§3. Such election shall be held by the regular election officers of the
county, and if held on the day of a general election the ballots shall be
deposited in separate boxes, to be provided by the electoral board of the
county, and the votes shall be counted and certified by the judges of
election, returned to the county clerk, and canvassed by the commission-
ers of election in the manner prescribed by law for general elections,
and the result of said election, as determined by the commissioners of
election shall be certified by the county clerk to circuit court, and the
ballots and poll books shall be held by said clerk subject to the order
and inspection of said court.

§4. The qualified voters at any special election held under this act,
until otherwise provided by general law, shall be those qualified to vote
at the preceding general election, except those who by commission of
crime or removal from the district or county have disqualified themselves
to vote.

85. If, from the certificate of the county clerk of the result of said
election as determined by the commissioners of election, or from an in-
spection of the ballots and poll books, the said circuit court shall be of
opinion that a majority of the votes cast at such election was for issue of
bonds for road improvement, the said court shall enter an order to that
effect, and shall direct the board of supervisors to issue and sell the
bonds of the county in accordance with the provisions of this act.

§6. At said election there shall be chosen by the qualified voters of
each magisterial district two road commissioners, whose duties and com-
pensation shall be such as are hereinafter prescribed. Candidates for
the office of road commissioner shall give notice to the county clerk in
the manner prescribed by the general law for candidates for county and
district officers and their names in a like manner certified by said clerk
to the electoral board.

§?. When the circuit court shall have entered its order as provided
for in section five of this act, the board of supervisors shall proceed to
issue and sell the bonds of the county for the amount specified by the
court in its order for said election. Said bonds may be either registered
or coupon bonds, in such form and denomination as the board of super-
visors may determine on, shall bear interest at a rate not exceeding five
per centum per annum, payable either annually or semi-annually, and
the principal shall be payable forty years from their date and payable as
to both principal and interest at the office of the county treasurer. It may
be provided by board of supervisors that any or all of said bonds shall be
payable at the option of the county, after the expiration of a period of
twenty years, in which event such option shall be stated in the face of
the bonds, and by a like note so stated in said bonds provision shall be
made for notice to the holders thereof of the intention of the county to
pay the same, or any particular bond, by personal notice to such holder
or holders or by publication in some newspaper to be designated in said
note on said bonds; interest on any bond so elected by the county to be
paid shall cease on the date fixed for such payment. Said bonds shall
be signed by the chairman of the board of supervisors and attested by
the county clerk, and have affixed thereto the seal of the county.

§8. The board of supervisors may sell said bonds through an agent
employed for the purpose or by sealed proposals or bids therefor, after
duly advertising the sale thereof, but said bonds shall not be sold for
less than the par value thereof. The proceeds of said bonds shall be
deposited with the county treasurer or such other repository as the
board may select, with the approval of the circuit court, or the judge
thereof in vacation: provided, however, that the proceeds of said bonds
shall not be placed in the custody of any person or corporation until he
or it shall have entered before the county clerk, with security to be ap-
proved by him, in a penalty to be fixed by the board of supervisors and
sufficient to secure the county against loss, and conditioned to have said
fund forthcoming on the order of the board. If said funds are paid to
the county treasurer he and his official bond shall be responsible therefor,
and the board of supervisors may in their discretion require other and
additional security of him as hereinbefore indicated, the cost of which
shall be paid out of the said fund, and he shall receive a commission of
one-fourth of one per centum for receiving and disbursing said fund.

§9. The proceeds of the sale of said bonds, after paying the costs of
preparing and selling them, shall be used for the permanent improve-
ment and construction of public roads in the several magisterial districts
of the county, and for that purpose shall be apportioned to the said
several districts according to the value of the taxable property of each
district as ascertained by the assessment of said property made for tax-
ation during the year said bonds are sold: provided, however, that in
making such apportionment of said funds the districts in which perma-
nent roads have already been constructed from the proceeds of sale of
county bonds shall each of them be charged with and account for a sum
equal to the amount so expended in each district for such permanent
roads derived from the sale of such bonds, and when a road so improved
constitutes the boundary line between two districts, each of them shall be
charged with an account for one-half of the cost of such road.

810. The two road commissioners for each magisterial district to be
elected under the provisions of this act, together with the member of the
board of supervisors for such district, shall compose a road board for the
district, and the road board of each district shall be charged with the
duty of selecting the roads to be constructed or improved in their dis-
trict and of determining the character of improvement or construction
to be made, and such other duties as may be assigned them under this act.

§11. So far as is practicable, the work of improvement and construc-
tion of roads under the provisions of this act shall be of a permanent
nature, and the roads to be improved shall be so elected as to form a
system of thoroughfares over the routes which are most cntensively used.
When controversies arise between the several districts over the selection of
the road to be improved, the same shall be decided by the State highway
commissioner.

When the road boards of adjoining districts decide to improve a road
which constitutes a boundary line between them, then the cost of 1m-
proving such road to the extent that it constitutes such boundary line
shall he paid one-half by each disrict; and when the road board of a
district desires to improve any road which constitutes a boundary line
between districts and the road board of the adjoining districts refuses to
join in such improvement, then the State highway commissioner shall
decide whether or not such road shall be improved by the two adjoining
districts at their joint cost.

§12. Each district road board hereinbefore provided for shall select
one of their number as a member of a county road board, and the mem-
bers so selected by the several district road boards shall constitute a
county road board, which shall organize by the election of one of its
number chairman and another secretary. The secretary shall keep a
complete minute of the proceedings of the board neatly recorded in a
book kept for the purpose. ‘The said county road board shall be au-
thorized and charged with the duty of selecting a competent engineer to
plan and supervise the road construction and to fix his compensation ; to
employ such other superintendents and clerks as may be necessary, and
to fix their salaries; to purchase machinery, if necessary, and material;
to determine whether the several roads shall be constructed under con-
tract or under the supervision of the county road board by the employ-
ment of labor and the purchase of materials; and generally to make all
necessary and proper contracts to carry out the provisions of this act.
By and with the advice of an engineer they shall determine what roads
shall be relocated before being improved or constructed, and when they
have so determined that the location of a road shall be changed they
shall report such fact to the board of supervisors of the county, and
thereupon said board of supervisors shall at once proceed under the ex-
isting road law governing the county to acquire at the expense of the
county the right of way necessary for such change of location of such
road. The machinery and other property purchased by the said county
road board shall be chargeable to and paid for by the districts in the
proportion in which it is used for each district. If the work of im-
provement under this act is conducted under the supervision of the State
highway commissioner then the county road board may dispense with
the services of an engineer employed by them, if practicable to do so.

§1214. Each member of the county road board shall, on or before
the first day of April, nineteen hundred and ten, enter into and acknowl-
edge a bond before the county clerk in penalty of one thousand dollars,
with the security to be approved by said clerk, conditioned for the faith-
ful performance of all their duties required by this act. ‘the cost of
said bond shall be paid out of the fund provided by this act.

In the event that any member of the county road board shall fail to
execute the above-required bond, his office shall become vacant and the
circuit court shall proceed to fill such vacancy.

In case of the appointment hereafter of any member of this board to
fill a vacancy hereafter occurring, the appointee shall, upon his qualifica-
tion, execute the bond above required.

§13. All payments made under the provisions of this act shall be
made on the order of the county road board by warrants signed by its
chairman and attested by its secretary, drawn on the repository having
custody of the funds arising from the sale of bonds under this act.

S14. A vacancy occurring in a district road board shall be filled by
appointment by the circuit court of the county, or the judge thereof in
vacation, to fill the position of a member elected under the provisions
of this act. A vacancy in the county road board shall be filled by the
district road board of the district whose member retires. The terms of
office of the members of the district and county road boards shall con-
tinue until the objects of this act are accomplished.

§15. The members of the district road boards shall receive for their
services the sum of two dollars for each day they are actually employed
in the discharge of their duties: provided, no member shall receive more
than twenty dollars for services rendered in any one year, and the mem-
bers of the county road board shall receive for their services the sum of
three dollars for each day they are actually employed in the discharge of
their duties: provided, that no member shall receive more than seventy-
five dollars for services rendered during any one year, except that the
chairman and secretary in addition to their per diem shall receive each
the sum of one hundred dollars per annum for their services. No mem-
ber of either a district road board or the county road board shall be
otherwise employed by or be interested in any contract made with the
county road board under this act.

§16. The county road board shall at least once in each ninety days
render-and publish a complete detailed statement of all receipts and dis-
bursements under this act, and at the conclusion of the work shall render
before a committee to be appointed by the board of supervisors a full
account of all such payments and receipts and deposit all vouchers and
records with the county clerk. The accounts and records of the said
county road board shall at all times be open to the inspection of the
board of supervisors.

§17. The road construction and improvement to be made under the
provisions of this act shall be prosecuted as far as is practicable under
the supervision and direction of the State highway commissioner and
under the provisions of law controlling his department, and under the
laws providing for the use of prison labor in the construction of public
roads.

§1714. The member of the county road board of the district in
which the material is situated may take from the most convenient land
wood, stone, gravel or earth that may be necessary in constructing or
repairing the road to be constructed or repaired under this act: pro-
vided, that such wood or other materia] shall not be taken from any
yard or garden without the consent of the owner: and further provided,
that the members of the county road board shall not cut any fruit or
ornamental trees, or any hedge planted or left as protection to cattle:
provided, the same does not in anywise interfere with the travel along
the road.

§1714a. If the owner or tenant of any such land shall think himself
injured thereby and the said member of the county road board cannot
agree with the owner as to the amount of damage, the said member of
the county road board shall make application to a justice of the peace
of the district in which the material is situated to issue a warrant to
three disinterested freeholders requiring them to view the said land and
ascertain what is a just compensation of such owner or tenant for dam-
age to him by reason of taking said material. The said freeholders,
after taking an oath before the said justice of the peace to faithfully and
impartially discharge their duties as viewers, shall ascertain such com-
pensation and report the same to the county road board. The county
road board may allow the full amount agreed upon or reported by the
said freeholders, or so much thereof as upon investigation they may deem
reasonable, subject to such owner’s or tenant’s right of appeal to the
circuit court as in other cases.

§18. In this act the word “district” shall be construed to denote
magisterial district.

§19. No irregularity in the election provided for in this act, or in
the issuance of the bonds to be issued hereunder, shall affect the validity
of said bonds in the hands of a bona fide holder thereof.

§20. This act shall not be construed as in any manner amending or
altering the law now in effect for working and keeping in repair the
roads of Charlotte county, except that the same shall not be applicable
ee use and expenditure of the fund aris#ng from a sale of bonds under

18 act. :

§21. The board of supervisors shall annually levy upon all property
and lawful subjects of taxation for county purposes in said county a sum
and tax sufficient to pay the interest on said bonds, and in such manner
as they may deem best create a sinking fund sufficient to pay the said
bonds at or before maturity.

2. An emergency existing, this act shall be im force from its passage.