Chap. 653.—An ACT to provide for working the roads, repairing bridges, and
opening new reads in the county of Angusta, and repealing sy much ot the acts
as affects the county of Augusta, approved March 5, 1804.

Approved March 2, 1898.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That it shall be
lawful for the county of Augusta, after the first “day ‘of July, eighteen
hundred and ninety-eight, to locate, open, change and repair highw QYS,
roads and bridges, as follows:

2. For each road district in the county of Augusta there shall be cre-
ated and established a board consisting of the supervisor, a commis-
sioner of roads and one director for each district, which board shall
have control of the roads and_ bridges within its limits, and all taxes
levied for road purposes and for building and repairing bridges shall
be expended in each road district, except as hereinafter provided. The
director constituting a member of the board shall be elected for two vears
in the manner, at the times, qualify and take office as is prescribed 1
the election of the commissioner; he shall be a resident of the road dis-
trict for which he is chosen and a qualified voter; and the commissioner
of roads shall be elected by the qualified voters of the several road dis-
tricts as hereinafter provided. The board hereby created and constituted
is declared to bea body, politic and corporate, and shall be known and de-
sicnated as the road board for ——————- road district. The road dis-
tricts narned in this act shall be of the same extent and limits as the magis-
terial districts as now constituted, and the qualified voters herein re-
ferred to shall be taken to mean such persons as may be qualified voters
of each magisterial district. The first term of office under this act
shall commence on the first day of July, eighteen hundred and ninety-
eight, and continue two years, and the elections thereto shall be made
in May next preceding; each succeeding term shall commence on the
first day of July succeeding the election, and shall continue two years.
Each commissioner of roads thus elected shall qualify at the time and
in the manner prescribed for the qualification of magisterial district
officers, and shall at the time of his qualification, give bond with good
personal security, in not less than one thousand dollars nor more than
three thousand dollars. The present incumbents of these offices shall
continue in the discharge of their duties until their successors are elected,
qualify and relieve them by virtue of this act.

3. The commissioner of roads, as the executive officer of the board,
shall have charge of all the roads in his district. His duty shall be to
see that all the roads in his district are of proper width, and in places
where they are not, to give notice, in writing, to the person obstructing
the roads; and if the obstructions are not removed after a reasonable no-
tice, of not less than ten nor more than twenty days, he shall direct the
overseer of roads to remove the fencing or other obstructions, and may
recover the expenses with costs from the person or persons so obstruct-
ing the roads by judgment of a justice of the peace, in a proceeding in-
stituted in the name of the road board in his district: provided, however,
that the road board of any district may, in its discretion, retain any
existing road at its present width. He shall examine the roads in his
district at least twice in each year, in the months of May and October,
and oftener if the exigencies of the service require it, subject to the
approval of the road board, and shall see that the roads are drained on
the sides and all standing pools of water well removed from the roads,
and that the middle of the roads are sufficiently raised to shed the water
immediately into the side ditches, and that the bridges are kept in good
repair by the overseer. If he shall find any overseer delinquent in
discharging his duties, the said commissioner shall give him notice in
writing; and on his failure to discharge his duties in a reasonable time
he shall report him to the road board, who shall, unless good cause be
shown, remove him from office and forthwith appoint another in his
place. The compensation of the commissioner of roads shall be two
dollars per day, except at such times as he is acting in the capacity of a
member of the road board (the compensation for which service is here-
inafter provided), in which he has been or may be actually employed
in discharging his duties under the provision of this law; but in no case
shall the pay of the road commissioner exceed one hundred and twenty-
five dollars per annum, to be paid by the road board for the respective
road districts upon the approval of the other two members thereof, or,
if they should disagree, upon the approval of the judge of the county
court, who may determine the matter without formal pleading: pro-
vided, however, that persons applying for a new road, or to lay out,
open, alter, or change a public road, shall, when the same is rejected,
be charged with the per diem compensation of the commissioner of roads.

4. There shall be annually appointed by the road board, not later than
the fourth Saturday of May in each year, one overseer of roads for each
road precinct, whose term of office shall be one year, beginning on the
first day of July succeeding his appointment. He shall reside in the
district for which he shall have been appointed, and shall have charze
of the roads of his precinct. If any such overseer refuse to serve after
being appointed or fail to work the roads in his district when directed
by the road commissioner he shall be Mable to a fine on presentment by
the grand jury not exceeding fifty dollars; but any person after being
overseer for two consecutive years may give up his office on producing a
certificate to the board from the road commissioner or other satisfactory
evidence that the roads in his district are in proper order, and he shall
not within two years thereafter be appointed overseer without his con-
sent. The duty of the overseer shall be to see that the roads in his
precinct are well drained on both sides, and where they pass over wet or
boggy ground that they are there underdrained and graveled as far as
practicable, having reference to permanence and extension of the work.
He shall keep the roadbed full in the centre to produce a brisk water
shed into the side ditchea, which shall be continuous, without obstruc-
tion and sufficiently large to conduct the water from the road and
afford an elevated track; that all loose stones are removed and placed for
permanent improvement: that the roads are kept free from obstructions,
standing dead trees, and other dangerous timber, and otherwise in good
order, and that the bridges are in safe condition. (He shall not be
required to apply to the commissioner or road board for an order to
make minor repairs in his road precinct out of the regular road-working
season, but shall remove obstructions, repair bridges, open ditches and
fill mudholes when such repairs are needed). For these purposes he
may employ, at the costs and charges of the road board, such number
of laborers, teams, wagons, carts, plows and road machines as may be
necessary, with the approval of the commissioner of roads, and in such
work the said overseer shall not use his own farm laborers, teams,
wagons, carts and plows to the exclusion of those of other citizens of
his road precinct, but shall, as far as practicable, when they can be se-
cured, use the teams, wagons, carts, plows and road machinery of per-
sons other than his own within the bounds of his road precinct, and be
made according to the schedule of price which shall be prescribed in
writing on the first day of July of each year by the road board. He
shall, under the direction of the road board, purchase such tovls and
implements as shall be necessary for working the roads, have charge of
the same, report annually, or oftener, if required, their condition and
number, and deliver possession of the same to the commissioners of
roads on settlement of accounts. He shall perform such other duties
as may be prescribed by law or be required by the commissioner of roads
as consequential to them. His compensation shall be one dollar and
twenty-five cents per day for each day in which he is actually employed.
5. The road board, when they deem it expedient, are empowered to
have the building or repairing of bridges or roads, or any part thereof,
done by contract in writing, which shall be filed with the clerk of the
board. Lettings to contract shall be preceded by public notice and be
awarded to the most suitable bidders, taking proper sureties for their
performance according to this act, under the direction of the road board.
In no case shall any member of the board have any pecuniary interest
in the contracts. If the board shall find at times and places, it most
expedient, they are empowered to employ suitable overseers, at agreed
wages, to work on the roads by the month or year, in discharge of the
duties and obligations imposed on overseers under this act, and the
direction of the commissioners of roads, whose inspection of the work
shall be as frequent as the exigencies may require, and the board
approve.

6. For the purpose of providing a fund for working the roads, repair-
ing the bridges, and for opening new roads, it shall be the duty of the
board of supervisors of said county on the first Monday in July in each
year, or as soon thereafter as is practicable, to levy a tax upon all real
and personal property in said county, not exempted by law, not exceed-
ing twenty cents upon each hundred dollars of the assessed value
thereof.

7. The road board for each district shall certify to the board of super-
visors in the month of July, before the first Monday in each year, the
amount of money that in its opinion will be proper or necessary to be
spent in its road district for the ensuing year, and the rate of tax that
should be levied upon the real and personal property in said district, and
such certificate shall be binding upon the board of supervisors, who shall
levy the tax thus certified upon each district, respectively, and shall
certify the amount necessary to be raised to the commissioner of revenue,
and he shall extend the taxes against the property and persons in the
district levied for road purposes. .

& The county treasurer shall collect the road tax of the county, and
pay the same out upon the order of the commissioner of roads, certified
by supervisor of the several road districts; heshall be charged with the
full amount of the road taxes levied for the year, and credited by all
sums paid over in money or otherwise, as herein provided. The treas-
urer shall receive, as equivalent to money, all accounts of labor, teams,
wagons, plows, and materials furnished, or for services rendered in any
way, when properly certified, by the commissioner of roads and super-
visor, and the same shall be receipted for by the commissioner as if paid
in money: provided, however, that the treasurer shall, in all cases, pay
out money on the order of the commissioner and supervisor who ordered
the work done, or materials furnished or services rendered, whether said
commiissioner’s successor shall have qualified or not: and provided further,
that no commissioner shall order any work to be done by contract or
otherwise, or materials to be furnished after the fifteenth day of May of
the year in which his term expires, except and with the consent of the
county court, or the judge thereof in vacation. Each commissioner of
roads acting under the provisions of this act shall settle with the board of
supervisors on the first Monday in August of each year, or as soon there-
after as the said board shall meet, and make an itemized statement in
writing of all receipts and disbursements received and made by him,
and when, to whom, and for what purpose disbursements have been
made, and for failure to make any such settlements in writing he shall
be liable to removal from office upon the motion of any citizen of his
district before the county court. The taxes levied under this act shall
be subject to the same laws regulating the collection of all other taxes.
9. The road board shall annually on the first Monday in August
audit, adjust and settle accounts of the treasurer for the preceding year;
but if their business shall not be completed on that day, they may ad-
journ from day to day until it is completed. They shall charge the
treasurer the full amount of the road tax levied in the district, and
shall credit him by his commissions delinquent, and all payments made
by him (by order of the road board) for which he has proper receipts.
He shall receive the same per centum for collecting road taxes as are
allowed for collecting the state taxes.

10. The said road board of each road district shall convene at stated
times and places in its district, of which there shall be notice given,
and at which persons having business with the board may attend.
Meetings for special purposes may be held at Staunton; also in the dis-
trict, on request of either member of the road board. The supervisor
shall be ex-oflicio president of the board; the director shall discharge
the duties of clerk. The board shall be a deliberative body, to consider
the subjects committed to it in this act, and determine the ways and
means by which to most fully accomplish its design. The commissioner
of roads shall be its chief executive officer. The said board shall
keep a record of its proceedings and a file of its vouchers; _pre-
scribe reculations for the purchase, care, preservation and transfer of
implements and other property from the outgoing officer to the incoming
one, requiring necessary vouchers. The commissioner of roads shall
annually make a written report to the board of supervisors on the condi-
tion of the roads and bridges, the operations of the closing year, the
items, condition, number and disposition of the district property, with
such recommendations for future action as he may deem proper. His
annual report shall be published for the information of their constituency.
The compensation of the members of the road board shall be one dollar
and twenty-five cents per day for each day that they shall be in attend-
ance upon the meetings of the board, to be paid with cost of necessary
stationery and printing out of the fund appropriated for the road dis-
trict.

11. The road precincts shall remain as now laid out and described by
metes and boundary in the several magisterial districts until changed by
the road board as hereinafter provided. The said board shall have
power, and it shall be its duty, to make such changes therein as may be
proper. When any change is made in the road precincts it shall be re-
ported to the county clerk, who shall keep a record of the same in a
book kept for that purpose, and also the said county clerk shall keep a
record of all the road overseers who, when appointed by the road board,
shall be reported to him, and it shall be the duty of the said board to
report all appointments of overseer to the said county clerk.

12. The road commissioner of each district shall cause to be erected,
at all points where roads cross or intersect or diverge from each other,
suitable indicators, showing the next most prominent place on the ro: ad
and the distance. Any person who defaces, removes, or in any way
injures such indicator shall pay a tine of five dollars, to be recovered by
the commissioner of roads, upon the Judgment of a justice of the peace,
by proceedings instituted in the name of the board of the road board.
Any overseer shall have power to enter upon any lands adjoining his
road to make necessary repairs, drains or ditches, takirg due precaution
not to injure such Jand or lands by such repairs. Any person who shall
obstruct the ditches or impair the drainage of the roads shall pay a fine
of one dollar for every day it continues, and cost of the removal, the
damage done to the roads, and the costs of proceeding against such per-
son by the commissioner of roads before a justice to payment. The
commissioner of roads shall be empowered to administer oaths and
affirmations.

13. Every public road hereafter established in the county of Augusta,
shall be thirty feet wide, and the grade of such road shall not exceed
five degrees at any one point. The road board of any district may, how-
ever, by special order establish a different width or grade.

14. When any person applies to the county court to have a road or
bridge therein established therein or altered, the court shall refer such
applications, which shall be in writing, describing as accurately as pos-
sible the desired road or bridge, to the road board of the magisterial
district in which the whole or greater part thereof is to be loc: ited, and
thereupon the said board shall view the ground and report to the court

the conveniences and inconveniences that will result from it as well to
individuals as to the public, if such a road or bridge be as proposed
established, and especially whether any yard, garden, orchard or any
part thereof will in such case have to be taken.

15. The board shall particularly report the facts and circumstances, in
its opinion, useful in enabling the court to determine the expediency of
establishing or altering the road or bridge. It may examine other routes
than that proposed for the road, and report in favor of the one it prefers
with reason for the preference. The report shall state the naines of the
landowners on each route, and state which of them require compensa-
tion, the probable amount, in the opinion of the commissioners or
viewers, to which party may be entitled, to what amount any person
through whose lands any road is opened may be benetited thereby,
and any other matter which may be deemed pertinent. A map or
diagram shall be returned with the report, and for that purpose, the
board may, if it see fit, employ a surveyor.

16. Upon the return ‘of the report, summons shall be awarded against
the proprietors of the land, which shall be served in person if they be
residents of the county, and if not, upon any agent or attorney, or
tenant of the land. If there be no agent, attorney, or tenant within
the county, service may be had by publication for one week in some
newspaper published in the county. The summons or publication shall
be to show cause at the term of court to which it may be returnable,
why said road shall not be opened or the bridge built, the cost of same,
and the compensation of road board shall be paid by the road board of
the district out of its funds, except that the court may, in its discretion,
render judgment for the same against the applicant should the applica-
tion be denied.

17. The court shall hear evidence for and against the report of the
road board, and for and against the assessinent of damages to any land-
owner, and may decide the same upon evidence, or, in the discretion,
it may appoint three freeholders, who shall go upon the Jand and make
further report, but as to the advisability of opening the road or the
damages thereof, or to any landowner, or any other matter that the
court may assign to them; and this report may be read in connection
with the other report, and the evidence heard upon the application.

18. If the court shall be of opinion that the road should be opened
or bridge built, it shall so direct, and the clerk shall certify its order to
the road commissioner of the district, who shall cause it to be executed:
provided, however, if the cost of the opening the road or building the
bridge and the damages to the landowners shall exceed the sum of one
hundred and fifty dollars, the said road shall not be opened or the
bridge built until the board of supervisors shall approve the same, and
make an appropriation therefor out of the county levy.

19. No road shall be established through any lot in an incorporated
town without the consent of the proprietor thereof, or through the land
of any cemetery, or any seminary of learning, without the consent of
the owner thereof or the corporate authorities.

20. Should any member of the road board be unable, and should the
court think it improper for him to act under the fifteenth, sixteenth,
seventeenth and eighteenth sections of this act, because of interest in
the subject matter, or other suflicient cause, the court may appoint some
freeholder of the county to act in his place. A majority of the board,
or of the frecholders appointed as viewers, shall constitute a quorum for
any matter under this act, except that both of the other members of
the road board must pass upon the accounts of the road commissioner.

21. In case of a road on the line dividing two magisterial districts
the commissioner of roads of the adjoining districts shall divide the
road between each district in such a way as will equally divide the ex-
pense, if they can agree; and in case they cannot agree the board of
supervisors of the county shall divide the same and direct what part
of said road shall be open and kept in repair by each magisterial dis-
trict.

22. The act to provide for working of roads, repairing of bridges,
and opening new roads in the county of Augusta, approved March
third, eighteen hundred and ninety-four, and the acts amendatory
thereof, so far as they relate to and aifect the county of Augusta, are
hereby repealed.

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