Good morning .. did someone forget to log-in first?

The thing that I was trying to explain is simply how a CGI::Application process works.   An object that descends from that base class is instantiated, then you call its run() method.   During the object’s constructor, new(), and within run(), a series of method calls occur ... init, setup, page-handler, postrun, and so on.   This means that the object exists the entire time.   (And, once the CGI request is finished, everything goes away.)

This, therefore, is how you take care of your database-handles or anything else that you need to refer during the course of the request.   Simply store them as properties of your object:   $self->{'dbh_1'} = ... ;.   Set these up, say, in the appropriately-named setup() method.   Or write a short subroutine that instantiates them on-demand.   It’s entirely up to you.

Yes, there are plenty of plugins available.

Could you use param()?   Take a look at its implementation and you will see that the answer is obviously “yes.”   But you don’t have to, and, I tend to think, that’s not really “the designer’s intent.”