Newport Riverwalk closer to reality Proposed project envisioned as centerpiece of downtown revitalization

NEWPORT – Town officials will meet today with environmental engineers from Kleinschmidt Associates of Pittsfield as the town moves one step closer to realization of its Riverwalk Project.

Last year, the Main Street Dam was removed and new land created out of the stream bed of the East Branch of the Sebasticook River, the outlet of Sebasticook Lake.

This year, the riverbed will be returned to its original location, before the construction of the dam.

That land will be used for many purposes, including an expanded park and walkway along the riverbank. But it must be stabilized, explained Town Manager James Ricker to the selectmen Wednesday night.

“One of the best ways to do that is with trees,” said Ricker. The town recently received a grant to purchase 250 trees to plant in the Riverwalk area, he told the selectmen.

The project – including a walk, parks and recognition of an ancient Indian artifact site – is part of a rebirth of Newport’s downtown. A new library and historical society building is planned, and a grass-roots effort is under way to save a historic Grange building.

Although many vehicles pass through the easternmost area of town, the Triangle business section, town officials are hoping to lure tourists and their money into the downtown area, creating a destination along busy Route 2.

Part of the lure is a new, state-of-the-art fishway being constructed at the outlet of the lake in North Street Dam. The fishway will have viewing platforms to allow visitors to watch the fish passing through.

Work on the project was to have been completed between last fall and the end of winter, but Ricker explained that a series of issues, including engineering, weather and construction problems, have delayed the job.

Ricker told the selectmen that mid-May to June 1 was the cut-off date and that “if weather stays ahead of us, we should be done by then.”

Today’s workshop will go over the blueprints for the Riverwalk, which is expected to be completed by the Army Corps of Engineers in July or August.

To continue the effort of siting a new library and historical center in the downtown, the board appointed an advisory committee Wednesday night. Selectman Richard Parlee was drafted to serve as the board’s representative.

In other business, the board approved adding mixed paper to the list of items being recycled. Mixed paper includes any type of box, such as cereal and pizza boxes, that are gray inside, office paper and junk mail.

“The schools are one of the biggest users of mixed paper,” said Ricker. At $68 a ton to ship the refuse as waste, Ricker guessed that the town could make $20 a ton by selling the paper.

He said the town would mount a three-month educational effort before making it mandatory to recycle mixed paper by summer’s end.

The board also gave Ricker the go-ahead to begin a building construction assessment at the transfer station. They agreed that working conditions in the winter are unacceptable and that the baler needs to be replaced.

Ricker suggested demolishing the existing building and constructing a new, heated facility to house the safer, more efficient baler.

“We need to assess the situation,” he said, including cost, space and materials.