BIDDEFORD -- About 50 people attended a meeting today at City Hall to discuss the future of the 32-acre mill district that sits in the heart of the downtown area.

The meeting was the first public comment on a $160,000 master plan being created by Boston-based consultants Crosby, Schlessinger and Smallridge. There will be two more public meetings, in October and early next year, before a draft plan will be submitted to the City Council.

Since most of the sprawling mill district is privately owned, much of the presentation focused on common area elements that could be introduced, such as a riverwalk or a pedestrian bridge to the Saco side of the river.

Only a few residents spoke after the presentation, with questions about environmental impact, cost, number of jobs created and coordination with Saco.

Consultant Carole Schlessinger said it was too early in the process to have specific details available, but said they were moving forward with a steering committee that represented various interests and that they would work to make the project environmentally sound and economically realistic.

Former Biddeford Mayor Bonita Pothier said the presentation and the plan so far was "very exciting" but said residents were still concerned that it could introduce gentrification to the area and forget or leave behind the blue-collar workers that have made up the bulk of Biddeford's population over time.

"You have to be mindful of that," said Pothier, who was mayor in 1990-91. "But a lot of people are saying the time is right for this. There are so many elements coming together. The amount of activity (at the mills) is extraordinary."