Chap. 244.—An ACT to provide a road law for Appomattox county, and to repeal
all acts in contlict therewith.

Approved May 15, 1903.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That for each
magisterial district in the county of Appomattox there is hereby created
and established a road board, consisting of the supervisor (who shall be
chairman of said hoard), a commissioner of roads, and one of the justices
of the peace of said district (who shall be designated by the judge of the
county court, and who shall be ex-officio clerk of said road board), which
said board shall have exclusive control of the roads and bridges of said
district.

2. That the commissioner of roads shall be elected by the qualified
voters of the district in which he resides at the election held on Tuesday
after the first Monday in November, nineteen hundred and three, and
every four years thereafter, their terms of office beginning on the first day
of January next succeeding their clection. Each commissioner of roads
and each justice of the peace designated as aforesaid shall qualify before
the county court, and the commissioner shall, at the time of his qualifica-
tion, give bond, with good security, in the penalty of not less than one
thousand dollars.

3. The said commissioner of roads shall receive such compensation for
his services as the board of supervisors shall allow, not to exceed two dol-
lars per day, and not to exceed seventy-five dollars in any one year; and
the justice of the peace shall receive for his services ten dollars per annum,
to be paid to him at such times and in such amounts, by warrants drawn
by said board on the treasury of said county, as said board may by its
order entered on its minutes determine. Any vacancy in the office of
commissioner or justice of the peace shall be filled for the unexpired term
by the county court. The said commissioner and justice of the peace,
before entering upon the duties of their office, shall severally take an oath
to faithfully perform the duties of their offices, which oath shall be filed
by the clerk of said county court.

4. Each commissioner shall, as soon as practicable after his quatifica-
tion, carefully examine all the public roads of his district and lay off and
divide them into sections of such length as to the road board of said dis-
trict may seem practicable.

5. The eommissioner of each magisterial district shall let to contract
for terms of from one to five years, in the discretion of the road board, in
one or more sections (the sections having been numbered), to the lowest
responsible bidder, having first advertised for sealed bids, stating clearly
in the advertisement the work to be done on said section of roads or
bridges therein, in addition to what is specified and required by section
nine hundred and eighty-two of the Code, notice of which letting to con-
tract shall be posted for-not less than ten days at each postoffice and other
public places in the district. The bids shall be in writing, and signed by
the contractor, and the same shall be delivered, under seal, to the said
road board for their examination and acceptance or rejection ; and at their
first meeting thereafter cach contractor shall be required to execute a
hond to the county, with good security, in the penalty of at least double
the amount of his bid, conditioned for the faithful performance of his
contract. and a recovery may be had for any breach of said contract in the
name of the county for the benefit of the road fund in the county court
by motion after ten days’ notice to the contractor and his security; and in
case of recovery on said motion the same costs shall be taxed in said judg-
ment as if the motion was in favor of the Commonwealth. And ‘ary such
judgment may be deducted by said road board from the amount due said
contractor on his contract. The attorney for the Commonwealth shall in-
stitute and prosecute such motion. The said contract and bond shall be
filed with the clerk of said road board.

6. Should there be any section or sections of road upon which there is
no sealed bid, the road commissioner, after advertising as is hereinbefore
directed, may receive propositions to contract for said section or sections
without requiring said proposals to be sealed ; said proposals to be subject
to the same requirements in contracting as sealed bids.

7. If any section or sections of road remain unlet by reason of there be-
ing nd bid, or for any other reason, the commissioner of roads shall appoint
or employ an overseer for such roads or section of road, said overseer to be
paid such compensation per day as may be agreed upon by the road board.
Said overseer shall employ such Jabor as may be necessary to keep such
road in repair, paying such prices as are customary in the community.

8. An itemized account of all work done by overseers shall be kept, and
said overseers shall make off and swear to said account, and submit same
to the commissioner of roads; and upon his approval said acounts shall be
presented to the road board, and if found to be correct, said road board
shall give its warrant upon the county treasurer for the amount.

9. It shall be the duty of the commissioner of roads to give personal
supervision to a!l roads and bridges within their respective districts, and
especially require foot crossings to be constructed or maintained over all
streams where necessary for the convenience of pedestrians. To sce that
the contractor is faithfully performing his contract, and for any failure
in carrying it out, the commissioner of the district shall at once institute,
through the attorney for the Commonwealth, proceedings for the recovery
of damage for the breach of said contract.

10. Overseers appointed or employed under this act shall be subject to
the same requirements under section nine hundred and eighty-two of the
Code as a contractor.

11. The contractors shall be paid for work done under their contract
semi-annually, or oftener, as the road board may determine, which pay-
ments shall be made by the warrant of said board upon the county treas--
urer, but payment shall be withheld by said board if at the time fixed for
such payments said contractors’ road is not in order until the commis-
sioner supervising the same shall report it to be in the condition required
by his contract.

12. The county treasurer shall keep the road fund separate from other

tax funds, and the entire fund shall be placed to the credit of the road
fund.

13. All road taxes shall be expended in the district from which they are
collected: provided, however, that the construction of new bridges shall
be under the supervision and control of the board of supervisors and the
cost of construction paid for out of the contingent fund of the county.

14. Except as hereinbefore provided, the county treasurer shall here-
after pay no money. collected from road taxes except on the warrant of the
road boards of the several magisterial districts. No person or persons in
Apponiattox county shall hereafter: be compelled to work on the public
roads without compensation.

15. No member of the road board shall be directly or indirectly inter-
ested in any contract made under this act, and any participation therein
by either shall render the contract null and void.

16. For the additional services required by this act, the supervisors of
each district shall receive fifteen dollars per annum.

1%. The road board of the several districts may sell or dispose of any
tools or implements which may be delivered to them by the present road
officials, or may have them used upon the roads of the county as in their
discretion may appear best for the county. Any act required to be done
by said road board under and by virtue of this act may be done at any
meeting thereof.

18. All applications for new roads, or for the change of location of ex-
isting roads, shall be made to the county court, and proceedings thereof
shall be as now provided by the gencral law. When any new road is or-
dered to be opened, or the loéation of any road changed, the order so
declaring shall be certified to the road board of the district wherein such
road is located, and said board shall proceed to have the work done by con-
tract as provided for keeping the roads in order in this act.

19. The general road law of this State, except so far as in conflict with
this act, shall be in force in the county of Appomattox.

20. All acts and parts of acts inconsistent with this act are hereby re-

vealed.
i 21. This act shall be in force on and after the first day of November,
nineteen hundred and three.