City officials have some big dreams when it comes to developing the newly-reclaimed riverfront north of Natchez Under-the-Hill.

The colorful &uot;development plan&uot; includes everything from dining and retail to new gazebos and a floating pier.

What’s amazing about the project thus far is how little Natchez has actually spent on the multi-million project &045; $20,000. That’s a drop in the bucket when you consider the other costs.

So far, Roth Hill Road has been rebuilt, and 5 acres of riverfront property were virtually raised from the dead &045; that is, part of the land long ago eroded by the flow of the river has returned.

It’s nice to imagine what that colorful development plan would look like in real life.

Expanding Natchez Under-the-Hill could bring new businesses, new jobs and new money to our city.

But let’s face it: It’s tough to imagine such things when the city is going through a tough time economically.

But maybe that’s when we need the most faith.

Natchez has at least four developers interested in the project. The city, according to attorney Walter Brown, is being careful about those prospects to make sure they are legitimately interested.

We haven’t invested a lot of money in the project so far, unless you count the federal and state tax dollars that went into the bank stabilization and the rebuilding of Roth Hill Road.

But we’ve invested time, work and, most important, dreams &045; and we’re anxious to see the return.