Breaking a trust?

I've been talking to a few people about the central waterfront because it seems to me (and others) that there is a move afoot to sell it down the river.

In the blink of an eye, the right combination of mayor and City Council president could dissolve the NRA (which the city can do) and somehow break the Waterfront Trust, which is there to protect public access to and enjoyment of the Merrimack River.

Contrary to what some people may think, it is NOT the city's problem that New England Development does not have vehicular access to its 8 acres on the waterfront.

And I'm wondering what "concession" could possibly be made for giving up my access to the river, a luxury very few communities retain in this day of big developers seizing waterfront property.

A parking garage? I think not.

But hold on - there is the counter argument that the area was historically a working waterfront so why not return it to some revenue-generating use?

Isn't that why the Waterfront Trust was established in the first place, to stop development on the central waterfront? Have times changed that much in 10 years?

If I were a member of the voting public, I would examine very closely the stance that people running for elected office have taken on this and other vital issues (town manager vs. mayor is another).

I can't remember when I read this, but I seem to recall reading in the Daily News a couple of years back that one, or some, City Councillor(s) were pushing for a town manager over a mayor. Perhaps someone would enlighten us all as to who those people were because I can't find it in the DN archives.

By the way, take a look at this series of posts from Mary Baker Eaton's The Newburyport Blog. It is from 3 years ago and it's the same old-same old: city manager and landfill.