BIDDEFORD — Nearly 100 residents have turned out tonight for a public hearing on the city’s proposed plan to buy Maine Energy Recovery Co.

The incinerator that has dominated Biddeford’s downtown and its politics for decades will be bought by the city for $6.65 million by Nov. 15, city officials announced last week. It will stop operating within six months of the purchase, and will be demolished six months after that.

Tonight is the public’s first opportunity to provide city councilors feedback on the proposal.

Under the deal, all that will remain standing is the smokestack, which holds up cellphone towers that generate nearly $150,000 a year in fees. That money will help cover the purchase price.

The city council is expected to take a first vote on the proposal on July 17 and a final vote on July 31. Public comment will be allowed at the July 17 meeting.