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Giselman Street in Lakeport, Calif., is repaved during the summer of 2017. Photo courtesy of Melody De Leon.

LAKEPORT, Calif. – In December residents in a Lakeport neighborhood gathered to celebrate much-needed infrastructure improvements made on Giselman Street.

More than 30 residents and friends attended the event on the afternoon of Dec. 17 to say thank you to the city of Lakeport’s administrative and Public Works staff as well as taxpayers for the work done to improve the sewer and water infrastructure and the repaving of the street.

According to Giselman Street residents, the street – a major route to the Lakeport Unified School District campus as well as a part of the Lakeport “Terraces” neighborhood – has not seen new pavement in more than 30 years.

As of June 2017, the street more resembled a dirt road, with dangerous patches of pavement chunks in various places. Residents said a simple stroll with the dog, a bike ride, or a child on a scooter or skateboard was a potential 911 call due to the road’s condition at that time.

The Giselman Street project received key funding from Measure Z, the one-cent sales tax that city residents approved in November 2016. This year’s city of Lakeport budget approved the sales tax funds being used for the Giselman Street work along with a host of other infrastructure and public safety projects.

This past summer, Team Ghilotti and Green Right of Way endured multiple 12-hour days of 110 degree heat to try to complete the project before the new school year.

The workers never complained, were kind and courteous to the residents and users of Giselman, and “worked their tails off all summer long,” said neighborhood resident Melody De Leon.

“To say ‘thanks’ just doesn’t seem like enough but it’s the least we can do,” she said.

De Leon said the Dec. 17 gathering was meant to show gratitude for the work that’s been done. “It was really fun and heartwarming,” she said of the celebration. “I hope this isn’t the last one!”

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