The Chelsea City Council took the first step in issuing up to $2.5 million in bonds to pay for its new police building.

The 6,600-square-foot building will be built on three city lots at the corner of South Main Street and East Summit next to Chelsea State Bank. It will include new City Council chambers as well.

The initial resolution states the intent to issue capital improvement bonds for not more than 20 years. It was approved 5-2 on Tuesday, with Councilmen Rod Anderson and Bill Holmberg voting against the resolution.

Before the vote, City Manager John Hanifan stressed that the resolution was just the first step.

“This is not the final approval of the bonds, a final commitment to issue the bonds and/or to use the proceeds,” he said.

After the meeting, Anderson said he voted against the police station resolution because the project is “the wrong place, the wrong design and the wrong time.”

He also voted against the project when the council originally approved the plan last August.

Anderson said taxable values in the city are going down, the city is facing a $3 million judgment, and in choosing the location for the new police station “other alternatives and options” were not considered.

He said the building should be bigger, but it won't fit on the site that was chosen.

Holmberg said he, too, voted against the project: “It’s the whole budgetary thing. It’s the $3 million judgment, the economic times, and I wanted to stay consistent. I've voted ‘no’ on this since the start.”

Lisa Allmendinger is a reporter with AnnArbor.com. She can be reached at lisaallmendinger@annarbor.com. For more Chelsea stories, visit our Chelsea page.