Stonington -- The Sept. 20 town meeting vote that approved $2.2 million bonding to create Mystic River Boathouse Park will stand as no one submitted a petition to force a referendum by the Friday afternoon deadline.

The day after the referendum, an unidentified man picked up the petition forms needed to force a referendum on the project, according to the town clerk’s office. But the forms with the 200 signatures needed to force a referendum vote were never submitted to Town Clerk Cindy Ladwig.

Some residents complained at the town meeting and on the Stonington Community Forum Facebook that a referendum vote should have been held because of the cost of the project. They said not having an all-day referendum disenfranchised voters who work second-shift jobs, are attending school at night or couldn’t find child care.

First Selectman Rob Simmons defended the Board of Selectmen’s decision to vote at town meeting, saying the project had been well-publicized over the past year and there has been little opposition. Holding a town meeting also avoided the $7,000 cost of a referendum, he said.

Voters who packed the seats in the high school auditorium at the town meeting overwhelmingly approved the project.

Plans call for transforming the 1.5-acre property, located at 123 Greenmanville Ave., just north of Mystic Seaport, into a public park where people can launch kayaks, rowing shells and paddleboards.

It also would be the home of the Stonington High School crew team, which attracts a large number of student athletes each year. The park could be ready to open in early 2018.

Plans call for purchasing the land, demolishing buildings, capping coal slag contamination and installing landscaping.

The project will dramatically alter the entrance into Mystic, providing sweeping water views where they currently don’t exist. The property is currently privately owned and blocked from view by fencing and a home.

While the town would pay for the creation of the park, 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.

Simmons has said that if the town bonds the cost over 20 years, it would cost the owner of a median-valued home — one with a $230,000 assessment — a total of $235, or $11.75 a year.

Simmons said Sunday the informal park committee he had assembled will meet Tuesday to lay out a plan going forward. He said the Board of Selectmen will now appoint a formal building committee and recommend the Friends of Stonington Crew create a fundraising committee. He said the Trust for Public Land, which secured a contract for the property on behalf of the town, will now finalize the negotiations with the current owner.

 j.wojtas@theday.com