Borough Councilman Don Rehner walks across Freeport's new dock Friday after the ribbon cutting ceremony at Riverside Park. Rehner said it took a lot planning and hard work to make the dock become a reality.

FREEPORT — Thanks to the efforts of community members, Freeport is living up to its name — by being a free port.

Officials and volunteers with the borough and the Freeport Renaissance Association on Friday evening cut the ribbon on a new boat dock at the Riverside Park on the Allegheny River.

The dock, which was installed in mid-June, is 180 feet long and allows people to tie up their boats and walk into town to shop and eat.

It can accommodate eight to 15 boats at a time including large ones that are more than 26 feet as well as rowboats and canoes.

The evening also was a celebration for the 10th anniversary of the Renaissance Association, a volunteer group that works on community beautification and improvement projects, plans live music in the gazebo by the water and holds the September by the River festival.

“Our mission has always been to focus on improvements to the downtown and the Riverside Park so the dock is our biggest accomplishment yet,” said Mary Bowlin, a volunteer with the group.

The cost for the new dock was $108,000. Some of that was covered by a $62,000 grant from the state Fish and Boat Commission and a $10,000 grant from the Port of Pittsburgh Commission.

The association still is working to raise money to cover the remainder of the cost, Bowlin said.

The dock was made by American Muscle Docks and Fabrication of West Virginia and was installed by contractor Holbein Inc. of Sarver. During the winter, it will be taken out and stored at the Freeport River Terminal.

Getting the grant took multiple tries over more than 10 years.

“This dock didn’t just land in the river behind us. It took a lot of work and a lot of planning,” borough Councilman Don Rehner said Friday before the ribbon cutting.

Marce Urbanski, owner of the Canvas Art Shop and a member of the Renaissance Association, cut the ribbon. She was the association’s grant writer.

Urbanski took on the project of applying for the grant about six years ago. After one failed attempt, her 2012 application was approved in 2013. But the dock was not able to be installed until 2015 because officials still had to get permits from the state Department of Environmental Protection.

By bringing more people and business to Freeport, the dock is a key piece in an ongoing effort to redevelop the borough.

Urbanski said, “It’s a cute little town. It has the potential to really grow back and to be something fun for people to do.”

Officials said the dock has already been in use since it was installed about a month ago.

Though the locks in the river south of Freeport are open 24 hours, the locks to the north are only open on holidays and weekends.

The Allegheny River Development Corp. has petitioned the Army Corps of Engineers to have the northern locks open for more time in the future, Bowlin said.

Among the boat owners tied up at the dock to enjoy a free concert Friday night were Chris Ann and Dennis Buday, who live across the river from Freeport.

Dennis Buday said they are already in the habit of tying up at the dock and walking into the borough to eat.

There are other free boat docks along the Allegheny River in Kittanning and Pittsburgh, but until recently, nothing in-between, he said.

He said, “People will come up here. Boaters are always looking for new experiences.”