There has been little word regarding the police station renovation project after Town Meeting members approved it back in October. But with the general election five weeks away, officials are ramping up to get the word out about the plans.

The Police Station Building Committee gathered Monday afternoon to discuss the project before it appears on the ballot on April 5. While Town Meeting voters approved plans to rehabilitate and renovate the police station at 249 Russells Mills Road, the only way the project can move forward is through approval in a general election.

The station was closed in 2014 when the bacterium legionella was found in the hot water system after an officer became ill with Legionnaires’ disease. Since then, the department has operated out of a modular building located on the property.

The $8.4 million project would renovate the existing station, overhaul the building’s floorpan and add a garage with a training facility. The project would cost the average residential taxpayer about $39 a year in additional taxes for the next 20 years.

Town Administrator David Cressman said the Select Board could hold a meeting near the end of March in which the board could review information about the project and invite the public to ask any lingering questions.

Officials plan to ask voters to pay for the new station through a “debt exclusion” from the tax-limiting Proposition 2½, allowing taxes to increase above the limits until the town has repaid money borrowed to pay for the station.

Cressman said that with tax exemptions, voters can be confused by the language on the ballot because, by state law, the ballot cannot list the cost of the project. In other words, voters will not see the $8.4 million dollar figure written on the ballot.

On April 5, voters can expect to see the following question at the bottom of the ballot: “Shall the Town of Dartmouth be allowed to exempt from the provisions of proposition two and one-half, so-called, the amounts required to pay for the bond issued in order to rehabilitate and renovate the Dartmouth Police Station located at 249 Russells Mills Road, including all costs incidental and related thereto?”

Marking yes approves the construction project. Marking no rejects the proposal.

Lieb also provided the committee with a rough timeline for the two-year project should voters approve it. A new building toward the back of the property, which will feature a fitness center and a five-bay storage area, will be constructed first. Two garages that currently stand on the property will be demolished, giving the station more parking spaces. The renovations on the main building can then begin.

As for the modular building in which police currently operate, Cressman said that will be emptied and removed from the property after the project is complete. The town may try to sell it. Initially, officials had thought groups outside the police department may want to utilize the modular building, but that is not the case.

“Once [police] move out in two years, then we will seek people to take it. I’ve had one inquiry already,” said Cressman. “There may be another police department in eastern Massachusetts that may require this building when we’re done.”

Back in October, the vast majority of Town Meeting voters approved the renovation and rehabilitation project. Architect Allen Lieb fielded questions for more than an hour from the public during the fall Town Meeting, and members of the Financial Committee stressed that the renovation project was more cost effective than constructing a new building from scratch in another part of town.

Late last year, members of the Select Board and Szala received a few complaints from citizens about Lieb’s initial design for the front of the building. Some felt the initial look, which featured a large, glass lobby, did not fit the aesthetic of Dartmouth. Lieb altered the design, opting for a more open, covered stairwell leading into the station.

“I’m pleased with all the positive feedback we’ve had from the community,” Szala said Monday night. “I think people realize that we need a new building, and we can’t operate well in a temporary facility.”