Chap. 466.—An ACT to amend and re-enact chapter 654 of the acts of assembly.
1897-98, entitled an act to authorize the board of supervisors of Floyd
county to let to contract the public roads of that county and levy a tax to
keep the same in repair, as amended and re-enacted by chapter 227 of the
acts of 1899-1900, and as amended and re-enacted by chapter 144 of the
acts of 1904, and as further amended by an act approved March 17, 1916.

C[H B 345)
Approved March 24, 1920.

l. Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That an act
entitled an act to authorize the board of supervisors of Floyd county
to let to contract the public roads of that county and levy a tax to keep
the same in repair, approved March second, eighteen hundred and
ninety-eight, as amended and re-enacted by chapter two hundred and
twenty-seven and the acts of eighteen hundred and ninety-nine and
nineteen hundred, and chapter one hundred and forty-four of the acts
of nineteen hundred and four, and as further amended by an act ap-
proved March seventeenth, nineteen hundred and sixteen.

Be it enacted by the general assembly of Virginia, That it shall be
lawful in the county of Floyd to build and construct roads and bridges,
and condemn land therefor, to work and keep in repair the roads and
bridges in said county as follows:

1. The board of supervisors of Floyd county shall have exclusive
control, supervision, management and jurisdiction over all of the public
roads and bridges opened, erected or repaired in said county, and to be
opened, erected and repaired; and for the purpose of opening roads
and building bridges and obtaining material therefor, they are hereby
vested with the power of condemning real property of every description
not owned by a public service corporation.

2. Whenever the board of supervisors of said county shall be of
the opinion that it is advisable and for the public convenience that any
new road shall be made or bridge built, or that any old road or bridge
shall be altered or relocated in said county, or when thereto petitioned
by ten freeholders, the board of supervisors shall appoint two free-
holders of the county, together with a surveyor or some engineer in
charge of public road work in the county, as viewers, any two of whom
may act, who, after being duly sworn that they will faithfully and
impartially discharge their duties as viewers, shall go upon the lands
proposed to be taken and shall view the various proposed routes
and locations for said road, or bridge, or for establishing a new road
or building any new bridge, report upon the expediency of altering
the location, width or grade of any road, lay out the one they prefer,
if any, giving their reasons for the preference, and return with their
report a map or diagram of the proposed road, showing its location
and width, provided every road shall be thirty feet wide and the
grade of no road hereafter located shall exceed four (4) degrees
unless the board of supervisors order a different width or grade.

3. The said viewers shall report in writing to the board, (1) the
convenience and inconvenience that will result as well to the individuals
as to the public; (2) whether said road will be one of such mere
private convenience as to make it proper that it shall be opened and
kept in order by the person or persons for whose convenience it 1s
desired ; (3) which of the landowners require compensation ; (4) what
will be a just compensation to the landowners requiring compensation
for the land so taken and the damage to the residue of the tract,
beyond the peculiar benefits to be derived in respect to such residue
from the roads, or bridge to be made, opened, altered or built; (5)
any other facts in their opinion useful in enabling the board of super-
visors to determine the expediency of establishing or altering the road
or building the bridge. They shall forthwith file their report with
the clerk of the board.

4. The board at its next meeting shall consider the said report
and as soon as may be either approve or disapprove it; and if the
board approve the said report, it shall forthwith order the construction
and opening of said road or bridge for travel either by the overseer
or in such other manner as said board may direct, but such approval
732 ACTS OF ASSEMBLY. [ va.

shall not determine the question of compensation to the landowners.
and the board shall cause the clerk to issue a summons to the owner:
and tenants of the land affected thereby to appear and file with the
board in writing their claims for compensation at the next meeting
of the board, if they desire compensation for their land so damaged or
taken; however, no owner or tenant who is present in person or bi
counsel when the order approving the report of viewers is entered nee:
be summoned. The summons may be directed, executed and returned
as a summons may be in other cases, except that it may be personally
served in the county on an agent or tenant or any landowner not within
the State, and such service shall be equivalent to service on the land-
owner. If the landowner resides out of the State and have an agent
or tenant known to the clerk or board in the county, or 1f such lJand-
owner be unknown to the clerk or the board, the clerk or board may
order notice to all whom it may concern, to be published once a week
for four weeks in some newspaper published in said county, and posted
at the front door of the courthouse, on some rules day to appear and
assert any claim he may have for damage done by establishing or alter-
ing such road or bridge.

Personal service of said summons on a non-resident and return
thereof may be in the mode and with the effect prescribed by law;
likewise if the clerk shall send the summons by registered mail and
have returned to him a receipt signed by such party.

5. If upon the return of such process duly executed any owner
or tenant as to whom it is returned duly executed fails to appear, the
said board may direct that the amount allowed him by the viewers in
their report be paid him, or may appoint commissioners, as hereinafter
provided, to determine his compensation. Upon the appearance of
such owners or tenant before the board, if said board cannot agree
with him upon the amount of compensation, then the said board shall,
within sixty days after the completion of the work on said road or
bridge, and the opening of it for travel, appoint three disinterested free-
holders of the county as commissioners, who, after being duly sworn,
shall meet at a designated place on a day named in the order, notice
of the time and place of which meeting shall be given to the landowners
and tenants affected, except that notice need not be given to one
who was present in person or by counsel when the order was entered,
go upon the land in question, examine the premises and hear all parties
in interest and report in writing to the next meeting of the board what
will be a just compensation to cach party claiming damages for his
land taken, and for the damage to the residue of the tract beyond the
peculiar benefits to such residue from the road or bridge to be estab-
lished,

At its next meeting the board shall consider said report, hear all
parties whose property is affected thereby, and if good cause be shown
against the said report, or the commissioners failing to report within
a reasonable time, the board of supervisors, as often as may seem
to it proper, may appoint other commissioners for the purpose of
ascertaining the compensation aforesaid. When any report of com-
missioners 1s confirmed, the board shall provide for the payment of the
compensation allowed therein, unless the party whose property is taken
or damaged shall decline to accept the amount allowed, in which case
such party may within sixty days appeal as of right from the order
of the said board of supervisors allowing a compensation to the circuit
court on the question of due compensation, which court shall hear the
matter of compensation de novo with further right of appeal to all
parties as provided by general law, but no appeal shall be taken from
the discretionary finding of said board as to the advisability of opening,
repairing, or altering any road or building, repairing or altering any
ridge.

6. Stone, gravel, sand, earth, clay, timber and other material for
building and repairing roads and bridges may be taken for present use
as provided by Code of Virginia, and the board of supervisors may
acquire for present or future use stone, loose or in quarries, gravel
beds, sand, earth and clay, or any of them together, with ways of
ingress and egress to and from same by condemnation by the same
procedure as prescribed in said section for acquiring land for a road,
bridge or landing, and may acquire a fee simple or any lesser estate
in the land where such material is.

7. The board of supervisors of said county shall have charge of
the making, altering, repairing and keeping in order all public roads
and bridges in the said county, and for the purpose of this act the
board of supervisors may in their discretion levy a capitation tax of
not exceeding one dollar on every male citizen over twenty-one years;
provided that the taxes collected for road purposes in each magisterial
district shall be expended on the roads in the districts in which col-
lected, except the taxes derived from railway and telegraph companies,
which shall be equally divided between the magisterial districts of said
county.

8. It shall be the duty of supervisor of each magisterial district
to give personal supervision to all roads and bridges in his district,
and to see that the work upon same is properly done. And each
supervisor shall receive as compensation for such service four dollars
per day for not exceeding thirty days in any one year, for the time
actually employed by him in the performance of the duties imposed
upon him by this section. And the said board of supervisors of said
county may purchase an equipment, including teams to be used in
permanently improving, under the supervision of the State highway
commission, such roads in said district in said county as the board
may deem it advisable using for defraying the expenses thereot the
road levy provided herein, together with any other funds available.

9. The board of supervisors shall provide for all cost of roads
and bridges now in existence, and for opening and altering new roads,
or repairing new bridges, or rebuilding old ones, to be levied, collected
and paid out according to provisions of law, and work shall be done
in such manner as the said board shall prescribe; provided, that all
expenses for bridges that cost over fifty dollars ($50.00) for building
or repairing shall be paid out of the county levy, but the said board
shall not expend in any one year more than the amount of levy for
that fiscal year, unless they shall have accumulated money out of
the previous levies, in which they are authorized to spend said moneys
so accumulated.

10. No member of the board of supervisors shall, directly or in-
directly, be interested in any contract made under this act, and the
office of any supervisor violating this section shall be deemed, ipso
facto, vacated.

‘11. All levies made under this act shall be extended by commis-
sioners of revenue upon their books separate and apart from other
levies, and only be extended in district in which they are assessed.

12. It shall be left to the discretion of the board of supervisors
whether the road should be worked by overseers, by contract or other-
wise, and for such roads as the board may deem advisable. The super-
visors of each magisterial district may appoint an overseer for any
road in his district, which overseer shall hold office at the pleasure
of the supervisor appointing him, and shall receive as compensation
for his services such amount as supervisor considers fair and reason-
able. Each overseer shall submit to the supervisor appointing him an
itemized statement under oath showing the amount of time he has
worked upon the road, the time each man employed by him has
worked, and the cost and value of all material used by him and from
whose lands taken.

13. The supervisor of each magisterial district by and with the
consent of the majority of the whole board is hereby authorized to
purchase such tools, implements and machinery, as well as teams
that may be needed for work on the public roads of his district, and
to hire men for any special work at a compensation to be agreed upon
by the supervisor and the man or men so employed. All money raised
by road tax levied under this act shall be expended in the district
where collected, and in case an overseer is appointed to work any road.
the supervisor of the district, or the supervisors of the districts in which
the road lies, shall, on January first, of each year, notify the said over-
seer or overseers of the amount of money to be spent in work for his
roads that year, and said overseer or overseers shall not receive pay
or bind the board of supervisors, or the supervisor of his district, or
the supervisors of the districts in which said road lies, for any amount
in excess of the amount allotted by the board of supervisors, to the
supervisors of said district, or to the supervisors of said districts, for
the said road.

14. And the board of supervisors of Floyd county may, by a ma-
pority vote of said board, adopt for the county of Floyd any laws or
parts of laws in force in any county of this State for building, repair-
ing, altering and keeping in order the public roads and bridges of said
county, provided that such acts or parts of acts when so adopted by
the board of supervisors for Floyd county, shall be entered upon the
minutes of said board.

15. Nothing contained in this act not in conflict with the general
road laws of the State shall be construed as depriving the board of
supervisors of Floyd county from accepting the benefits which may
accrue to the several counties of the State under said general road law.

16. All acts or parts of acts in conflict herewith are hereby re-
pealed.
1920. | ACTS OF ASSEMBLY. 735

17, There being an emergency, owing to the condition of some
of the roads in the county of Floyd needing repairs, and owing to
the delay under the present law in the matter of condemnation of land
for rights of way, and owing to the nearness of the time for laying the
county levies, this act shall be in force from the time of its passage.