Chap. 972.—An ACT providing for the working and keeping in order, build-
ing, and maintaining the public roads and bridges in the county of Scott.

Approved March 7, 1900.

1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That on and
after the first dav of April, nineteen hundred, it shall be lawful for
the county of Scott to work and keep in repair the highways, roads, and
bridges, and open, change, and repair the roads and bridges of said
county as herein provided.

2. For each magisterial district in the county of Scott there shall
be created and established a board to be known as the road board, con-
sisting of two members to be designated as road commissioners, resi-
dents of said magisterial district, who shall be appointed by the county
judge of said county, on or before the first day of April, nineteen hun-
dred, who shall qualify before the county court of said county on or
vefore the twentieth day of May next after their appointment by taking
lie usual oath of office, and each of them shall enter into and acknowl-
»dge a bond before said court, with security to be approved by the court
n the penalty of three hundred dollars. Such bond shall be payable to
‘he county, and with condition for the faithful performance of his
luties as such commissioner. The said commissioners shall hold office
for one year from the first day of May after their appointment: pro-
vided, the term of office of the road commissioners appointed hereunder
shall expire on the first day of April, nineteen hundred and one; and
the commissioners may be removed from ollice at any time by the
county judge for failure to discharge their duties.

3. It shall be the duty of the road commissioners of each magisterial
district, to lay off all the public roads in their district, into sections
which they may designate by numbers, but the length of the section
shall not be less than one mile, and shall not exceed five miles. ‘The
commissioners of roads for each magisterial district shall each year
ascertain the amount and character of work to be done on each section
of road in their magisterial district and shall prepare specifications
therefor, which shall be posted in three or more public places on the
section on which the work is to be performed, or otherwise published
as the chairman of the road board for said county may direct, calling
for bids for working said section for the term of one year, notices of
which lettings shall be posted for at least ten days. They shall require
the bids to be in writing and signed by the contractor, and shall deliver
the same under seal to the chairman of the road board, who shall, in
person with the road commissioners of said magisterial districts, ex-
amine the same at their first meeting thereafter, and shall have the
ritht to reject any and all bids. Each contractor shall be required to
give bond with good security in the penalty of at least double the
amount of his bid for the faithful performance of his contract, made
pavable to the county of Scott, and a recovery may be had for anv
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 securities. The attorney for the commonwealth
shall institute and prosecute such motion. The said contract and bond
shall be signed and executed in duplicate, one of which shall be filed
with the county clerk of said county, and the other retained and filed
with the records and papers of the road board of said county.

4. The chairman of the road board of Scott county shall require the
contractor upon every section of road let to contract under provision
of this act to execute a written agreement with the county, setting
forth all matters appertaining to the contract, which shall be attested
by the secretary of the road board for Scott county, and be filed with
the chairman of the road board of said county. When the work con-
tracted for shall have been completed in the months of May and June.
as well as the month of October of each year, the commissioners of
roads for each magisterial district, along with the chairman of the
road board of said county, shall inspect the same, and if it shall appear
to them to have been performed in accordance with the terms of the con-
tract, they shall make a report thereof to the road board of Scott county
at its meetings, which shall be held on the first Monday in May, June.
and October of each year, to take up the contract let upon cach sec-
tion of the road in said county: if the contractor shall have complicd
with the same, they shall issue their warrant in the usual way upon
the county treasurer for the amount due under the contract,
said warrant to be signed by the chairman of the road_ board,
and attested by its secretary. The secretary of the road board
shall number said warrants beginning at one, also the section giving
the name of the magisterial district in which said road is situated,
name of person in w hose favor the warrant is drawn, whether under
written contract, or work done under overseer of roads for said section.
The secretary of said road board shall keep a full and complete list of
all warrants issued upon the treasurer of Scott county, in a book to be
known as “Scott county road warrants.” The secretary of said road
board shall furnish in duplicate a list of the road warrants drawn upon
the treasurer of Scott county, to the county clerk of said county, who
shall copy the same upon the road book kept in said office, the work
done upon each section of road in said county. The road board of said
county at its meetings in Mav, June, and October and November, shall
audit all of its accounts and make a full and complete report of the
work done under contract, or otherwise, and all business transacted bv
them prior to the date of their report to the county court, which,
upon his approval and inspection, shall be filed and recorded in_ the
county court clerk’s office. Each commissioner of roads for said county.
except the chairman of the road board, and secretary of same, shall
receive for his services an annual salary of fifteen dollars, to be paid
semi-annually by warrant drawn upon the county treasurer out of the
general road levy for Scott county. The chairman and secretary of
the road board for Scott county shall receive for their services an annual
salary of thirtv dollars each, to be paid semi-annually by the county
treasurer out of the general road levy for Scott county.

The board of supervisors of said county shall levy and appropriate
for general road purposes under this act the capitation tax of fifty cents
on every male citizen in the county over twentv-one and under sixty
vears of age, as allowed under the constitution, and they shall levy along
with the county, and in addition to the capitation tax, a tax upon the
property, real and personal, assessed for taxation in the several magis-
terial districts of their county which shall be applied as hereinafter pro-
vided for the working, keeping in order, and repairing the public roads
and bridges in the magisterial district in which such tax is levied. Tt
shall be the duty of the chairman of the board of supervisors of Scott
county to render annually to the chairman of the road hoard for Seott
county a statement showing the amount of levv and road funds available
for each magisterial district. Such tax shall not be less than thirtv-
five, nor more than sixty cents, upon every one hundred dollars in valne
of such property, and the same shall be collected and accounted for by
the treasurer of said county, and paid out only on the warrant of the
road board of Scott county. The fund collected from each magisterial
district shall be kept separate by said treasurer. And the amount col-
lected in each district shall he expended therein.

. The road board of cach magisterial district for Scott county, as
soon as they have laid off the roads in their districts into sections , pro-
ceed to let the main thoroughfares therein to contract as hereinbefore
prescribed, and they may also, at their discretion, petition the county
court to appoint one overseer for cach section of road upon the roads
leading through the magisterial distriets into the main thoroughfares.
Therein such overseers shall qualify by taking the usual oath of office
for the faithful performance of their duties before justice or other
oticer authorized by law to administer the same, and each shall con-
tinue in office until his successor is duly appointed and qualified, unless
sooner removed by the county court or the chairman of the road board
for Scott county, in which case the county court shall proceed at once
to fill the vacancy. The term of office of said overseers shall be for
one year, commencing on the first day of July after their appointment.
It shall be the duty of the road commissioners of each magisterial dis-
trict to file a list of the various sections into which they have divided
the roads of their respective districts, by numbering same, with the
secretary of the road board of the county and also ‘the county clerk.
It shall also be the duty of said commissioners of each magisterial dis-
trict to embody in said report a list of such overseers appointed by the
county court, showing the section to which each is assigned. Failure
on the part of any commissioner to perform the duties imposed by this
section, he shall forfeit ten dollars of his salary, which shall be with-
held by the road board of Scott county, and applied to the road fund
of the district for which said commissioners are appointed.

7. It shall be the duty of the overseer of each section to be present,
and give personal attention at any and all times when his particular
section is directed or ordered to be worked, and to supervise and list
all hands which he may work upon said section, and be responsible for
such tools as may be furnished him by the road board of Scott county.
Each overseer shall be required to keep the section of road under his
charge in good repair, free from rut, clear and smooth, free from rocks,
timber, or other debris, also from gates unlawfully kept up, and other
unlawful obstructions of the required width, well drained; and in addi-
tion, conform to the requirement as near as may be of section nine
hundred and eighty-two of the code of Virginia; when the grade on
any road exceeds five degrees, it shall be put on new location or cut
down when practical to this degree, as shall be deemed most expedient
by the hoard of supervisors, who shall determine the same, subject to
the provision of section thirteen of this act. Fach overseer shall be
paid one dollar for each dav of ten hours actually emploved in working
on his section, and for his failure to comply with the requirements of
this act. or to keep his section of the road (unless the same be let to
contract) in as good condition as possible with the means at his com-
mand and the time allotted to him to work by the road board of Scott
county, after he shall have been ordered to work same, he shall be
fined not less than five nor more than twenty dollars, which shall be
applied to keeping his section of road in good order. It shall be the
dutv of the road commissioners of said district or any citizen to report
anv neglect, failure, or refusal on the part of anv overseer to the at-
tornev for the commonwealth, who shall. if he be satisfied that there
has been auch neglect, failure or refusal, proceed against such over-
seer by motion in the county court.
8. The chairman of the road board of Scott county shall provide the
secretary of said board with a full and complete set of books and sta-
tionery, in which all the records and business pertaining to the roads
of said county shall be kept; he shall also provide each overseer ap-
pointed in the county with a book, in which the overseer shall keep
separately the name of each person hired by him to work upon his
section of the road, the number of days each worked and the amount
paid to each person. ‘The overseer shall, when and as often as required,
deliver such book to the secretary of the road board, or the commis-
sioners of roads in his magisterial district for their inspection.

9. An itemized account of all labor done by the overseer and those
hired by him, and the amount thereof shall be made off and sworn to
by each overseer, and submitted to the commissioners of roads for his
district, and upon their approval said accounts shall be presented to the
road board of Scott county at their regular meeting in May, June, or
October of each year, and if found to be correct, said board shall draw
their warrants therefor on the county treasurer, payable out of the
road fund of the district in which the work was done, and to the re-
spective parties entitled thereto.

10. Each person who shall be hired to work on any road under the
provisions of this act shall be paid for such work the sum of eighty cents
per day of ten hours each; there shall also be allowed for each wagon
and team with driver the sum of one dollar and seventy-five cents per
day of ten hours, and for such other things not herein provided for that
may be needed such wage or sum as the road board of Scott county.
in its discretion, mav fix. Al] accounts for labor or other things here-
under shall be made off, sworn to, and paid as provided for by section
nine of this act. Each person hired and performing labor under this
act shall provide and bring with him such tools as may be necessary for
him to have or required by the overseer.

11. When it becomes necessary, in the opinion of the road com-
missioners of any magisterial district for said county, that the overseer
of any section of road within such district should have a sledge ham-
mer, crow-bar, drill, or powder and fuse for blasting, such road com-
missioners shall give an order therefor or procure the same, and the
actual cost thereof shall be paid by the road board by warrant drawn
on the road fund of such district.

12. The road board shall keep a book to be known as the road book,
in which shall be kept an account of the road tax levied in each magis-
terial district, and the amount collected thereof, and how apportioned
between the various sections of roads in each magisterial district and
a list of all tools furnished each overseer, who, upon a new overseer
being appointed, shall account to the road board of his district for all
tools furnished him. All accounts to be allowed under the provisions
of this act. all reports and settlements to be made of warrants to he
drawn shall be passed upon, audited, examined and made before said
road board semi-annually or oftener, as said board may determine.
But said road board shall have no authority to expend in any one vear
an amount larger than the road tax collected from their respective
districts, and for so doing they shall be liable on their official bonds for
the amounts overdrawn.
13. No new roads shall be located or new bridges established or al-
terations made in an established road except upon the application
to the county court by some citizen of the county, and no cost or ex-
pense incurred in making such application, and no cost or expense in-
curred in making survey or location of said new road or bridge or
alteration in established roads shall be paid out of the county treasury,
unless the application for same shall be accompanied by the recommen-
dation in writing of the board of supervisors, or a majority thereof,
and if, upon the hearing of such application made in said manner, the
county court shall establish the said road, then the same shall be cer-
tified to the board of supervisors, together with the probable cost
thereof, and the said board shall then take such action thereon as they
may deem best in the then condition of the finances of the county, and
may award contracts therefor under the provisions of section fourteen
of this act. All warrants issued under the provisions of this section
shall be payable out of the county levy. Nothing in this section shall
prohibit or prevent the county court of the county from making surveys
upon or establishing such new roads, bridge, or alteration at the ex-
pense of the applicant therefor.

14. The board of supervisors may, at any time, in their discretion,
let to contract the building of any new road or alteration made in an
established road. Such contract shall be in writing, signed by the
parties, and shall set out the character of the work to be done in addi-
tion to what is specified and required by section nine hundred and
eighty-two of the code of Virginia. Each contractor shall be required
to execute contemporaneously with the signing of said contract, a bond
to the county, with good personal security, approved by the board,
in the penalty of at least double the amount of his bid 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 in the county court, by a
motion, after ten days’ notice to the contractor and his security, and
in ease of recovery on said motion, the same costs shall be taxed in said
judgment as if the motion was in favor of the commonwealth, and anv
euch judgment may be deducted by said board of supervisors from the
amount due said contractor on his contract. If nothing be due him.
however, or if such recovery exceed the amount due him, then such
amount or excess shall go to the road fund of the district in which the
road or bridge contracted to be worked. built, or repaired is located.
The attorney for the commonwealth shall institute and prosecute such
motion. All such contracts and bond shall be drawn by or under the
supervision of the attornev for the commonwealth, and for each con-
tract and bond so drawn by him he shall he entitled to a reasonable
compensation, to be paid bv the contractor. All contracts and bonds
drawn and executed hereunder shall be filed with the clerk of the board
of supervisors.

15. Overseers or contractors upon anv section of road now estab-
lished or which may hereafter he established in the county of Scott
mav take from any convenient Jands so much wood, stone, gravel. or
earth as may be necessary to be used in constructing or repairing their
respective sections or anv bridge or causewav therein; and mav, for
the purpose of draining the road, cause a ditch to be cut through any
land adjoining the same: provided, such wood and other articles be not
taken from, and such ditch be not cut through, any lot in a town, yard,
or garden without the consent of the owner. And if the owner or
tenant of any such land from which such wood, stone, gravel, or earth
may be taken, thinking himself injured thereby, a justice, upon appli-
cation to him, shall issue a warrant to three freeholders, requiring
them to view the said lands and ascertain what is a just and reasonable
compensation to such owner or tenant for the damages to him on
account of such removal. The said freeholders, after being sworn,
shall accordingly ascertain such compensation and report the same
to the board of supervisors or the road board of the county as the case
may be, whose decision thereon shall be final, and who shall draw
a warrant on the road fund of the district wherein such lands are sit-
uated for such amount as they shall allow.

16. No member of the board of supervisors or road board of Scott
county shall be directly or indirectly interested in any contract made
under this act, and any participation therein bv either shall render the
contract null and void; and for a violation of this section the pro-
visions of section one thousand cight hundred and twenty-two of the
code of Virginia, as amended by the act of the general assembly, eigh-
teen hundred and ninety-three and eighteen hundred and ninety-four,
page five hundred and sixty-four, shall apply.

17. All present road officials of Scott county shall proceed to settle
their accounts as required by law, and account to the road board ap-
pointed for Scott county by the county court for the various districts
of said county for all road tools or other county property in their cus-
todv, and deliver the same to said road board, taking their receipts
therefor. If such settlement and accounting for tools or other prop-
erty be not made and done by said road officials within reasonable time
after this act goes into effect, it shall be the duty of the attornev for
the commonwealth to proceed against them severally by rule issued
from the county court of said county.

18. Persons appointed hy the county court as members of the road
hoard for Scott county and overseers of section of road shall be com-
pelled to act, unless released by the county court for cause shown.
Any member of the road board or any other person appointed under
the provisions of this act, failing to discharge any dutv imposed bv the
said act, or failing or refusing to act when appointed, without being
released by said county court, shall be proceeded against in said court
by a rule of summons in the nature of an information. Such rule
or summon shall be issued by said county court on the motion of anv
citizen of said county, made through the attorney for the common-
wealth, citing the person named therein to appear before said court
on the first day of the next term thereafter, to answer the charge
recited therein, Such rule or summon shall be served at least five
davs before the return dav thereof, and the same shall be tried by the
said court. unless a jury shall be demanded by the defendant, and if
found guilty he shall, where not otherwise provided, be fined not exceed-
ing ten dollars. The costs in anv such proceeding shall be taxed as thev
are in misdemeanors.

19. The general road Jaw of the state, except so far as the same is
in conflict with this act, shall be enforced in the county of Scott.
20. Previous special road Jaws in force in said county and all acts
or parts of acts inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.

21. This act shall be in force on and after its approval by the boarc
of supervisors of Scott county.