Progress report after visiting the city waterworks and civil engineering department to resolve neighborhood issues☆彡

Since this April, my family has become the block leader for neighborhood association group 5💦

In April, the public relations materials for the number of people in the group were distributed to our home, and I distributed them along with this year's collection of dues.
As I handed out the materials directly and greeted everyone, I was able to talk to people in the same neighborhood I hadn't interacted with before, which helped us get a little closer, and it made me think about how important it is to cherish our neighborhood connections.

Then, a complaint arrived from someone in the group, and at the end of April, I posted the article below.

The complaint, as you can understand if you read the article above, was very complicated, and things were quite difficult after that💦💦

I would like to record this as a personal memorandum(^^)/

【Response to the complaint】

Our group 5 consists of 17 households. Of those, 7 households have the private road in question in front of their homes. This area was the first to be converted from farmland to residential land, and it was where the first houses were sold and built. Our house is adjacent, but there is no house in front of that private road.
However, half of the area in front of our house is a private road owned by someone else, and the other half seems to be a city road💦

Houses were built on that private road, and water shut-off valves were installed about 40 years ago.
There have been many problems with the private road until now, but it seems they were handled individually. This time, the problem started because the lid of the water shut-off valve came off on that private road.
Because of that, it felt like the lid on the vague anxieties of the people involved with the private road had been opened for the first time in 40 years💦💦

Nearly a month ago, after the complaint arrived, I first consulted with the neighborhood committee members, the vice president of the neighborhood association, and others. They looked into various things, but they told me that because the location is a private road and the management of the water shut-off valve is private property, the owner should fix it.
They said the neighborhood association could not provide money or intervene, and that it was not originally the job of the neighborhood committee members or the block leader.

Even so, I don't know whose water shut-off valve it is, so I can't contact the owner. But every time a car passes by, the lid comes off.
The ground around the water shut-off valve has subsided, causing the valve to stick out, which is why the lid comes off so easily. Furthermore, water pools in the subsided ground. This is because there is no drainage ditch (gutter) on that private road (I will talk about this later).

The owner of the private road has changed generations and now lives in a neighboring city.
I heard that there was a consultation about whether the city could take over this private road, but I heard the city did not accept it.
That is also an issue💦

However, I thought I couldn't just leave it as it is, because a child might put their foot in the hole when the lid comes off, or someone might trip over it.

【Going to the Waterworks Bureau!】

So, first, my husband and I went to the Waterworks Bureau to consult with them.
When I showed them the photo, they said that a water shut-off valve with an iron lid is required for roads.
It seems that about 40 years ago, because the water shut-off valve was installed on a gravel private road, a plastic water shut-off valve was permitted. (The city was not involved.)
At the Waterworks Bureau, they had data on whose water shut-off valve it was and how the contract for its installation was made.
As a result, it was found that the water shut-off valve whose lid had come off was a shared valve for three people in the group.
And, although it wasn't broken, I found out that the other blue-lidded water shut-off valve next to it belonged to our house💦
We didn't buy the land from the owner of that private road, but the water shut-off valve is on that private road. I don't know why💦 It seems that because there is a city road in front of that private road, it is treated as if we were drawing water from there.

Furthermore, I consulted them about the fact that the private road has been neglected for over 30 years, causing it to subside and pool water, and that even if we only replace the lid with an iron one, it would be easily broken because of the subsidence, but they told me to consult the Civil Engineering Department.

【Going to the Civil Engineering Department!】

So, I also went to the city's Civil Engineering Department about the subsided land.
At that time, I was told again that because this land is private property (a private road), the city cannot intervene.
I was also told that the owner's name and contact information are personal information, so the city cannot disclose them, and that I would need to go to the Legal Affairs Bureau to go through the procedures💦
It is only a road of about 30 meters (with about 5 houses on one side of the road), but it seems there are 3 owners!💦💦 (Is this a drama?!)

Since I was told that the city cannot repair private roads, I got a little irritated and asked, "If it subsides like in a major earthquake or if a water pipe bursts, won't you fix it?"
They replied, "That depends on the time and circumstances (laughs). However, there are many such private roads in your area, and we often get similar problems reported to the city, so we cannot intervene only for your private road..."

So I asked again if the city would accept the land (private road) if the owner requested to donate it, and they said that for a donation, a drainage ditch (gutter) is required on the road, and if that construction is done and the land is leveled, they would accept it.
It is true that there is no drainage ditch (gutter) on that private road.

They said that while it is now a rule to install a drainage ditch (gutter) when selling land, at that time, they probably sold the land at a lower price because they left it as a private road and did not install a drainage ditch (gutter).
They said they thought that explanation was probably given, but that was 40 years ago, and it might not remain in writing, and they suggested that perhaps the land was sold as a private road with the permission to use the road.

If that is the case, it would be best for the owner to install a drainage ditch (gutter) and donate it, but if it was sold at a low price without a drainage ditch in the first place, the owner would have no responsibility. Also, although it is a private road, there is a promise that it can be used, and it seems that because of that relationship, the owner is exempt from taxes and does not pay fixed asset taxes for the private road portion (the city didn't say it clearly, but that's how I interpreted it).

【Asking a plumber and getting an estimate!】

Furthermore, in order to have a discussion, I had an acquaintance who is a plumber take a look and provide an estimate to get an idea of how much it would cost to fix the water shut-off valve and rebuild the subsided area.
I was told that installing a drainage ditch (gutter) on a private road would cost in the millions of yen, and that replacing the water shut-off valve and repairing the subsided land would cost at least 150,000 yen.

Amidst being busy with various things, I have researched this far, consulted with the neighborhood committee members, and decided to gather the 8 households in our group involved with the private road to have a discussion.
I judged that it would be better to share information rather than talking to everyone individually, and because it is necessary to discuss the land itself, not just fixing the water shut-off valve.

The neighborhood committee member reserved a place for the discussion. Initially, the neighborhood committee member and the vice-chairman of the neighborhood association were supposed to participate, but they explained the basics that while they can offer advice, the neighborhood association cannot do anything or provide money regarding the fact that it is a private road and involves damage to private property. Therefore, the two of them did not participate in the discussion, and it was decided that I would report everything to them.

I decided on the day for the discussion and went around handing out the summons letters to each person while explaining the situation.
Since there was some time until the day of the discussion (due to the schedules of the vice-chairman and someone who works at night), the lid continued to come off every day💦
It became my routine to close the lid during my morning walk (lol).
Since it was dangerous to leave it as is, my husband used strong duct tape he uses for work to temporarily secure it until the day of the discussion, but it tore within a week. That is how much that spot is hit by car tires.

【Discussion with the group members】

Finally, on May 19th, we gathered the people involved with the private road and held a discussion.
In the end, the person who works at night came to tell me an hour before the meeting that they could not attend, even though I had set the date to accommodate them (I was a bit angry (# ﾟДﾟ)).

I told them again that I wanted them to participate because it involves money, but they said it was impossible because of work, which was truly disappointing.
Actually, that person was the owner of the water shut-off valve💦

So, I summarized the content (e.g., the broken water shut-off valve is yours, and basically the owner is supposed to fix it) and conveyed it softly with a smile, but it is unclear how much they understood. I also told them an amount higher than what I knew.
As an aside, that person does not have the trust of those around them, and there were even complaints about them during the meeting💦

Back to the story.
I raised the issue that while the owner of the water shut-off valve is responsible for fixing it, the problem occurred this time because the private road is sinking,
and I also raised the question of whether the owner should fix it if a similar problem occurs in the future, or if the owner should fix property damage, what should be done regarding matters related to the private road.
I also raised the issue of water pooling due to the lack of a drainage ditch and asked them to think about it.

Then, someone said that since we are all people involved with the private road, the same thing might happen again, so let's all share the cost for repairs to the road, and everyone else agreed (´；ω；`)ｳｩｩ

I also shared what I had researched about the drainage ditch (gutter).
I told them that while it is difficult to build a gutter on the road, there is something called a grating gutter. This can be done more cheaply than building a gutter.

When I looked into it, I found out that it can be installed if you apply to the landowner. However, the construction costs will be out-of-pocket.
I think I will go to the public works department to consult about that again.

There was even someone who said that if the city hall says they can't build it, we should use a council member (lol).

The discussion ended in the scheduled hour (the venue fee was 1000 yen).
Everyone was more cooperative than I had imagined, and I am relieved that it was decided that "we will all share the burden regarding the private road"＼(^_^)／

As I was leaving, some people said, "Keiko-san, you worked hard to get this information, so we will all cooperate," and "I'm glad you are the group leader; if I were the group leader, I couldn't do it," which made me feel that all my hard work was worth it (´∀｀*)ｳﾌﾌ

【Phone call to the owner of the private road!】

For now, regarding the water shut-off valve construction, I contacted the plumber and requested another estimate and an inquiry to the paving contractor.
And I also contacted the owner of the private road.
The owner said on the phone that they had tried to negotiate to donate it to the city, but the city's response went back and forth, and in the end, it became ambiguous.
In the first place, the owner was also angry that the land sale was a matter from their father's era, 30 years ago, and it could not be resolved💦

Perhaps it can't be solved unless someone a bit more important gets involved...
Who is someone important? A council member? (lol)
I wonder if it would be better for the 8 of us to go together...?
Would the response change if a council member were there?

...So, that is the current progress (^^)/

Anyway, I have no choice but to do it to solve it (lol).
It was Keiko☆彡

Thank you for joining me
again this time
<m(__)m>

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