Stonington -- Voters at Tuesday’s 7 p.m. town meeting at Stonington High School will decide whether to approve the $2.2 million Mystic River Boathouse Park project.

First Selectman Rob Simmons has called the proposal a chance for the town to acquire waterfront land along the Mystic River for a public park as well as provide a home for the high school crew team.

“We’ve worked long and hard to make a case for this wonderful opportunity and we hope people see it the way we see it as a wonderful opportunity for the residents of the Town of Stonington,” he said Monday.

Simmons has pointed out the town has missed opportunities to acquire waterfront property in the past as residents rejected plans to buy the former Stonington Airport property and a golf course that is now home to the Quanaduck Cove housing development.

The Board of Selectmen decided to hold the vote at the town meeting instead of holding an all-day referendum.

Simmons said the town has publicly discussed the project for the past year, sent out thousands cards to residents about the project, held a tour of the site and met with board and commissions.

“The response has always been one of unanimous support, so I felt given that level of support throughout the process why go through the added expense of a referendum (estimated at $7,000),” Simmons said.

No resident submitted a petition with the required 200 signatures to force the issue to a referendum vote by the Monday afternoon deadline. However, the town charter allows someone to force a referendum vote after the town meeting by submitting a petition with the 200 signatures within 10 days of the vote. Such a petition to overturn the town meeting vote at referendum can be submitted whether the plan is approved or rejected.

While large projects such as the renovations of the high school, elementary schools, and athletic fields were approved at referendum, Simmons pointed out that residents have voted on large expenditures in the past at town meetings. These include $1.8 million of public works and sewer improvements in 2004, $8.1 million to renovate Mystic Middle School in 1996 and annual budgets of $26.9 million and $29.8 million in 1990 and 1993.

To avoid any questions about nonresidents or those who do not pay taxes in town from voting at the town meeting, those entering the town meeting will have their names checked against lists of registered voters and taxpayers beginning at 6:30 p.m. Those who are on either list will be given a card. That card will allow them to vote by paper ballot or some other method depending on the decision of the town meeting.

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 would also be the home of the Stonington High School crew team.

Plans call for purchasing the land, demolishing buildings, capping coal slag contamination and installing landscaping. The project would dramatically alter the entrance into Mystic, providing sweeping water views where there are none now. The property is now 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. If approved, the park could be ready to open in early 2018.

Simmons said if the plan is approved the selectmen will appoint a committee that will design detailed plans for the park with input from residents and the state.

j.wojtas@theday.com