Bonding most likely option for funding Stonington boathouse project
Stonington — Board of Finance Chairman Bryan Bentz said Wednesday night that bonding the cost is the most likely option if the town wants to spend up to $2.2 million to buy riverfront land just north of Mystic Seaport to house a public park and the Stonington High School crew team boathouse.
The board, though, could not make a decision on how to fund the project at its meeting Wednesday because it did not have a quorum.
Bentz said he expects that when the board meets later this month, it would work out the funding issue and send the proposal back to the Board of Selectmen to formally set a Sept. 20 town meeting vote.
Last month, the Board of Selectmen voted unanimously to send the plan to a town meeting vote and ask the Board of Finance to approve a supplemental appropriation for the project, but did not specify how it would be funded.
Funding possibilities include bonding, tapping the town’s undesignated fund surplus or including the cost in the annual budget.
At Wednesday’s finance board meeting, Superintendent of Schools Van Riley said he strongly supports the project but only if the town bonds the cost.
He said the town faces budget challenges in coming years and money should not be taken from the surplus or annual budget.
First Selectman Rob Simmons agreed with Riley, saying the bonding process provides the most transparency and lets residents make the decision.
Simmons and representatives of the Friends of Stonington Crew and Trust for Public Land outlined the project and why it is needed to the finance board on Wednesday.
“This is an opportunity to do something unique and special that may not come around again,” Simmons said.
Costs include $1,875,000 to buy the 1.5-acre site at 123 Greenmanville Ave. from owner Frederic Baumgarten, and another $311,793 to clean up contamination on the site, but that expense will be deducted from the purchase price.
State grants also may offset some of the costs.
There also is a $262,290 pricetag for demolition and to create the park, along with a 15 percent design fee and a 20 percent contingency fund.
The Friends of Stonington Crew would be responsible for raising money to construct the boathouse and dock.
The team has outgrown its quarters at Mystic Seaport and needs to find a new home.
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