NEWBURYPORT — The ticket booth for the tour boats will be moved from its spot on the boardwalk, the Waterfront Trust agreed last night, but stopped short of saying where it will be relocated.
Bill Harris and four other Newburyport citizens appeared before the trust last night, following up on comments they first made at earlier meetings and noted in a letter sent to the board earlier this month. The group, the original "settlors," who caused the creation of the trust within land formerly administered by the Newburyport Redevelopment Authority, say the booth violated the trust's own terms and rules by its current position.
The boardwalk, a public space, can't be leased or blocked, Harris said.
"You're in violation of your own legal duties," he told the board.
The kiosk has been on the boardwalk for the last two years after tour boat operators first suggested the idea. It is located on the Transportation Dock, where the three boats can all use it. Half of the trust's income is from the dockage fees collected by the tour boats, Chairman Cliff Goudey has said.
Among the alternatives Harris suggested were selling tickets at the Custom House Maritime Museum, something other maritime museums do, or moving the booth to Riverside Park, near the sculpture park.
A peace statue, which shows two uplifted hands, can easily be relocated, Harris said, but could be a moot point since there is discussion that the statue will be moved by the Rail Trail construction.
Riverside Park is exempt from the trust's regulations that space in parks cannot be leased, Harris said.
Members of the board expressed optimism that a solution could be reached, saying a move of the booth around the corner into the park could resolve the issue and still be near the boats and visible.
"I think we have a tempest in a teapot here," Trustee Joe Brown said. "I think the language is very, very clear. You don't impede the boardwalk."
Paul Aziz, owner of Harbor Tours, said the one drawback to moving the booth into the park would be the lack of available electricity, as the kiosk accepts credit cards.
Boat owner Jonathan Van Campen said the current space is equal for all the boat owners, adding he's never seen a port city without a kiosk right next to the boats.
"Never once have I had a complaint about it," he said, adding that many questions he fields while working in the booth are unrelated to the boats, but are more about what places are good for lunch or where else is a good spot to visit in the city.
While Goudey said he supports the current site of the booth, as it draws in people and provides them with a way to connect with the water, he suggested a possible site for the booth would be farther down near the Black Cow in an area that is off the boardwalk but still visible. That spot does have electricity availability, he said.
It's important for the boat owners to have a way to make a sale on site, Goudey said.
The trust has not had one complaint about traffic congestion from the booth's placement, he said.
Following a vote by the trustees to move the booth, Goudey said he will contact Harris to visit the two most feasible possible alternatives — the sculpture park and the area he mentioned near the Black Cow, off the boardwalk. Following those discussions, the booth could be moved or it may come back to the trust at their next meeting in August for the board to determine where the kiosk will go.
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