NEWBURYPORT City officials are making progress in revising the Waterfront Trust documents that include construction plans for a new park on the citys waterfront.

Mayor Donna Holaday discussed plans for the waterfront, which has been on the table for decades, with members of the Waterfront Trust and Newburyport Redevelopment Authority Thursday evening. The plans call for an increase in open space while dialing down the number of parking spaces.

On Thursday, Mayor Donna Holaday acknowledged there is still much work to be done to revise the documents, and called for a series of meetings between subsets of groups involved with the waterfront to create a document they agree on.

The central waterfront is probably the biggest asset this city has, said Holaday.We have some really hard work ahead of us, and I think were down to some of the most important pieces as we move forward.

Holaday expressed her desire to overcome the plans financial hurdles and move on to dealing with other issues, saying that she is not worried about allocating annual funds to build and maintain the project. She estimated those costs at between $150,000 and $200,000 each year.

I believe that with all the value of the property in our city, if we cant together figure out how to come up with the money on an annual basis between the city and the Trust, we have a problem, said Holaday. Were committed to making that happen.

NRA chairman Bob Uhlig said he hopes the plans will include adding an additional point of access to the waterfront, and will create a meaningful park space that makes the area more of a year-round destination for visitors. He said he hopes the park will be funded sustainably to protect what he said would be the most important park in the city.

We are stewards of this land, and very critically we want to make sure we agree that the financing is sustainable so that this park can be maintained to the highest degree, said Uhlig.

Holaday said the group will meet again once the revisions to the Waterfront Trust documents have been completed, which she estimated would be in about six to eight weeks.

Jack Shea covers Newburyport City Hall. He can be reached via email at jshea@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3154. Follow him on Twitter @iamjackshea.

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Officials: Progress made toward developing Newburyport waterfront park plans - The Daily News of Newburyport