My second point (read below item first)

Can someone tell me what role the Mayor will have in the development of the waterfront. I know he appoints a number of members to the NRA (not sure what number to be honest but I'll try to look it up.) But once the appointments are finished, what say does the Mayor/City/City Council have over development of the two lots?

I get the sense from the Port in Progress series that the NRA can act independently. So I'm left with the understanding that the NRA members can determine the future of the waterfront.

Moreover, Fred Hufnagel raises a very good point about the Waterfront Trust in his letter to the Daily News. This was in response to Jim Stiles' suggestion to hold weddings on the Waterfront as a means to raise fees:

The problem for the city is that it doesn't own waterfront park or most of the boardwalk. Ownership of these parcels (apart from the two NRA parking lots) was transferred to the Newburyport Waterfront Trust, a public charity, in 1991. The Trust, not the city, owns the land and receives any income from what goes on there. The Trust is not a city body; its only relationship to the city is in the appointment of its members by the mayor and City Council. Fees from events held on Trust lands are used by the Trust to help cover the costs of mowing the grass, trimming the trees and for other maintenance and improvements. So far this year the cost of park maintenance has been over $22,000, plus another $6,000 spent on repairs and improvements. Not all this money comes from fees; there are also a number of very generous donations made to the Trust. But fees from waterfront events are part of the whole package and are definitely needed by the Trust to help maintain this area.

So if the NRA controls the lots, and the Waterfront Trust manages the rest. What is left for the city and the mayor to do?

I'd love an answer that I can publish here.