Norwich ― City leaders could be ready to try again this year to find a new location and win voter approval for a new police station.

Three months after voters narrowly defeated a plan for a $44.75 million new police station, 2,799 to 2,634, Police Chief Patrick Daley recently asked the City Council Public Safety Committee to consider reviving the issue. Daley said the need continues to be pressing for a larger, upgraded facility that can accommodate the public and modern policing practices.

“I would like to get it on the 2024 ballot, if not sooner, if something presents itself,” Daley said Thursday. “It’s not getting any better. It’s not like it’s a ‘nice to have,’ it’s a ‘need to have.’ ”

Alderman Mark Bettencourt, chairman of the council Public Safety Committee, said the committee did not vote on the request. Aldermen from both parties will bring the matter to their party caucuses to gauge potential support and could present a resolution to the City Council to restart the effort.

Daley suggested a committee be set up once again to review available properties and potential sites. A committee of city officials and members of the public was formed following a 2012 sound referendum defeat of a $33.4 million plan to renovate the former Sears building downtown into a police station complex.

Voiced objections varied on the two plans, with residents in 2012 complaining that the city paid a non-refundable option on the Sears building before knowing if voters accepted the plan. Last year, the referendum question did not identify a site, but a council resolution named property off Ox Hill Road at the edge of Mohegan Park as the top site, prompting complaints about that site as inappropriate.

Daley said the new effort should be done in public view as much as possible, allowing public comment on potential sites and suggestions of sites. He said residents have questioned why certain sites are not considered, and city officials should answer those questions ― whether the sites are not available, too small, too costly or otherwise not feasible.

The top site following the 2012 referendum was the former William A. Buckingham School grounds that borders Washington Street, Greene Avenue and Cedar Street. Neighbors in the vicinity objected to the site, however, and it has since become a popular neighborhood playground.

Bettencourt said if a committee is established, it could have a narrow focus of identifying a site and answering questions on why certain suggested sites are or are not under consideration.

“It seems a lot of people don’t want it in their neighborhood,” Bettencourt said. “It’s got to go somewhere.”

Bettencourt said he would prefer to consider city-owned sites to avoid the cost of property acquisition. He said the former Buckingham school property could be considered again, along with other possible sites.

“It needs to be as open as possible, so it can be vetted,” Bettencourt said. “Otherwise, we’re just going to run into the same problem.”

c.bessette@theday.com