As Sammamish officials continue informal talks with parties interested in the former Mars Hill Church property, some council members seek action.

“I’m very interested in doing something sooner rather than later to stop the bleeding,” Councilmember Tom Hornish said at the Tuesday council meeting.

Deputy Mayor Ramiro Valderrama-Aramayo and Councilmember Christie Malchow also pointed to the annual net loss of $30,000 for maintaining the empty building initially intended to be a higher education hub.

That figure was of some conversation, as the city previously released a higher annual maintenance cost.

That cost, according to the city, was the estimate for maintaining an operational building.

The actual annual cost is $50,000; the net cost is lower through a city contract with Microsoft for using the building’s parking lot, City Manager Lyman Howard said.

“I don’t see an empty building,” Councilmember Bob Keller said. “I see a building full of potential for the citizens of Sammamish.”

Keller also remarked on the use of “bleeding” or “hemorrhaging” to characterize the annual loss of maintaining the facility.

He, along with Councilmembers Tom Odell and Kathy Huckabay, agreed the loss retained now out ways the building’s potential and beneficial impact on the community.

“We’ve got some really wonderful opportunities out there,” Huckabay said. “Waiting and looking for the right opportunity really makes more sense.”

The Sammamish City Council approved the purchase of the $6.1 million property in March 2015.

Howard, the city manager, said he and several council members have been “working with a variety of interested people,” to lease the facility in the short term, as bringing in four-year community colleges and universities is proving to be a goal many years out.

The city has also received a range of “tentative offers for purchase,” from a break-even $6.1 million to “slightly more” and “slightly, slightly more than that,” Howard said.

His intentional vagueness is to protect the city’s negotiating position.

Valderrama-Aramayo made a motion to lease the property on a five-year contract, with Malchow seconding it. Keller, Odell and Huckabay said they would not be in favor of such a motion at this time.

The council unanimously postponed the question to its next meeting on March 15.