NEW LONDON — In less than 20 minutes Wednesday night, about 400 voters opted to indefinitely postpone a decision on a bond to purchase a property and continue planning for a new police station.

Voters at Town Meeting in March successfully motioned to reconsider the article after it failed to garner the necessary 66% supermajority support.

But since March, the New London Selectboard voted to rescind its support for the nearly $1 million bond because of problems with the town’s public works facility.

Wednesday’s motion to postpone the police station bond vote came after the Selectboard explained the DPW situation to the crowd gathered in Colby-Sawyer College’s Hogan Center gym. About 10% of New London’s 3,840 registered voters participated in the meeting.

New London’s main public works garage and office was deemed uninhabitable by a structural engineer in April and evacuated. It has to be torn down and rebuilt or renovated, a project that carries an unknown price tag, Department of Public Works Director Sam Clarke said.

As of last week, Clarke was awaiting results of an asbestos inspection to clear the way to tearing down the DPW structure. Long-term repairs are expected to take about two years.

Meanwhile, the owners of the property identified for the police station have said they are willing to sell at a future date, Selectboard Chairwoman Bebe Casey reported in an late April meeting.

Also on Wednesday, voters overwhelmingly approved a second article to pay debt service. The item also had to be reconsidered because it would have included the cost of the new bond had voters approved it.