Residents of Chelsea will have their final opportunity to learn about plans for a new $2.5 million Chelsea police station tonight before the proposal goes back to City Council.

Beginning at 7 p.m., city officials and members of the design team selected for the project will outline the plan and take citizen feedback at the First United Methodist Church, 128 Park St.

It is the second of two public forums City Manager John Hanifan and other city leaders promised in the spring after a groundswell of citizen opposition.

“We hope people get a better understanding of the building and how this situation developed,” Hanifan said. “After the response we got we promised two public meetings, and in Chelsea, we do what we say.”

Chelsea leaders have discussed moving the department from its current location at 104 E. Middle St. since 1993. The building is unsecure and, in its current condition, presents several safety hazards to the officers, Police Chief Ed Toth said. Among other problems, the entire third floor is sealed off by plastic due to black mold and the basement locker room has several exposed wires along the ceiling.

Toth said the building also presents other problems that make it difficult for officers to do their jobs, ranging from small evidence collection spaces to an interview room that is also used as the department’s main conference room and equipment storage space.

The city was close to finalizing a plan earlier this year until citizens opposed to the scope of the project and the proposed location at the corner of Main and Summit streets raised concerns. Residents went door to-door with flyers, and roughly 650 signed a petition to put the measure up for a vote, but it was deemed invalid by the city on a technicality.

Ultimately, the Planning Commission denied the city’s request to rezone the new property by a 4-3 vote. The City Council, which has the authority to ignore the recommendation, delayed a decision until after the public meetings. Hanifan said city staff members will analyze the feedback from the forum and bring their findings to the council in August, when a decision could be made.

Dozens of people attended the first meeting, including neighbors of the proposed facility who are concerned about their property values and how decisions were made.

“People wanted a more deliberative process,” Summit Street resident Robert Daniel said. “It has been talked about for a long time, but this project, this particular building and this particular idea looked like a knee-jerk piece.”

Tonight’s meeting will be televised and rebroadcast on local Channel 18.