CHAP. 184.—An ACT to provide for the working of and keeping
in repair the public roads and bridges in the county of Smyth.

Approved February 6, 1890.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia,
That the board of supervisors of the county of Smyth
shall annually levy along with the county levy a tax upon
the property, real and personal, assessed for taxation in
the several magisterial districts of the county, which
shall be applied to the working and keeping in order and
repairing the public roads and bridges in such districts,
and the compensation of the surveyors, supervisors, and
contractors provided for by law and the provisions of this
act. Such tax shall not be less than five nor more than
twenty cents on every one hundred dollars in value of
such property, and the same shall be collected, accounted
for, and paid out on the warrant of the board as if it
were a county levy, except that the levy for each magis-
terial district shall be kept separate by the county treas-
urer, and a different rate of taxation may be prescribed
for different districts in said county, and the amount col-
lected in each district shall be expended therein.

2. The said board of supervisors shall, at their annual
meeting in February or as soon afterwards as practical,
divide the public roads and bridges of the county into
such sections or precincts as may seem best to them, and
shall enter the boundary lines and limits of such sections
or precincts on the supervisors’ record book of the county,
and shall also determine which of the 891d sections or
precincts should be worked, kept in order, and repaired
by surveyors of roads, and which of the said sections or
precincts shall be worked, kept in order, and repaired by
public contract, and shall so enter the same of record;
but the board may, at anv annual meeting afterwards
held, change the sections or precincts and the manner in
which they shall be worked and repaired, in all cases en-
tering such changes of record as above required. In
dividing the roads of the county into sections and pre-
cincts under the provisions of this act, it shall be the
duty of the supervisor of each magisterial district to asso-
ciate with him two discreet freeholders of his district,
who, with himself, shall examine the roads and report to
the annual meeting of the said board a proper plan of the
road sections and precincts in such magisterial district. »

3. The said board of supervisors shall appoint survey-
ors for each of the road sections or precincts which they
shall determine should be worked and kept in order by
surveyors of roads, and in appointing such surveyors and
prescribing their compensation, they shall be governed by
the general law of the state. Each section or precinct
which the said board shall determine to keep in order by
public contract shall be let to contract to the lowest
bidder by the supervisor in whose magisterial district
such section or precinct may be; and it shall be the duty
of the supervisor of such district in every such case to
advertise for sealed bids, stating clearly in the advertise-
ment the extent and nature of the work to be done,
such advertisements to be posted at at least five
public places in the neighborhood of the work to be
done for at least twenty days, but said _ super-
yisor shall have the right to reject the lowest
bid received, if he shall deem it too high; or if such
supervisor shall deem it best, he may receive propositions
to do the work, after advertising as above directed, with-
out requiring said proposals to be sealed. When any bid
is accepted by the supervisor, he shall take.from such
bidder-a bond, with good security, payable to himself as
supervisor of his district, in a penalty double the amount
of the bid, conditioned that the person so contracting
will work and keep in legal condition and repair the
public roads and bridges of the section or precinct. Every
such bond shall be filed in the clerk’s office of the county
court of the county; and whenever the supervisor of a
district shall deem that a road or bridge in his district
has not been kept in legal order and repair, he shal! notify
the attorney for the commonwealth for the county whose
duty it shall be to give such contractor and the sureties
on his bond notice that he will move the county court of
the county to grant judgment on said bond; but at least
ten days’ notice shall be given in every case. The county
court shall have jurisdiction of said motion, and after
hearing the evidence in support of the motion and against
it, if it is found that the condition of the bond has been
broken, may give judgment for such part or all of the
bond as may seem right and just. If any defendant in
such motion shall require if, the motion may be tried
before a jury, but no pleading in writing shall be required,
and the recovery in every case shall go into the road fund
of the district where the road is located.
4, No person in the county of Smyth shall be required
to work on the roads without compensation, and the entire
burden of keeping the roads and bridges in repair shal}
be paid out of the road funds provided for in this act.

_ 5. So much of chapter forty-three of the code of Vir-
ginia as is in conflict with this act is repealed, so far a:
it applies to the county of Smyth, but in every other
respect the general road law of the state, as set forth ir:
said chapter, shall continue to be in force in Smyth county.

6. No member of the board of supervisors shall be
directly or indirectly interested in any contract made
under this act. Any participation therein by either shall,
under this contract, be null and void. No appropriation
by the county court for road or bridges in excess of thirty
dollars shall be binding on the county or paid unless and
until the same shall have been submitted to and approved
by the board of. supervisors.

7. The supervisors of said county shall have authority
to erect toll-gates on any of the roads or turnpikes in the
county, if they shal] deem it expedient and proper to do so.

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