When residents arrive at the polls on Election Day, they will be asked consider a $13.5 million bond expenditure to build a new boathouse at Harbor Park. Whether to authorize the measure — which would include the planning, design, construction, renovation, furnishing, and equipping of a new public facility and renovations to the existing John Smith Boathouse on Harbor Drive — is the only question on the ballot. A new boathouse, projected to have a 30-year life span, was constructed at the edge of the Connecticut River in 1978. It is used by the Middletown High School rowing team and the city-based Central Connecticut Rowing club, which offers classes in conjunction with the recreation department. Many people turned out at the Aug. 30 Finance & Government Operations Commission meeting to support the referendum, during which advocates called the sport a “life-changing” for athletes.
https://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/middletown-13-5-million-boathouse-vote-18471949.php