The old fire station on Second Street will stay in Langley’s hands after all.

Council members entertained an offer to buy the building by current tenant Callahan McVay, but decided it was best to keep the building for now, during Monday’s regular city council meeting.

The decision was a case of rejection, but with a kiss on the cheek. After a 20-minute executive session to discuss the minimum sale price, the council returned to an open meeting and informed McVay’s business analyst, Chas Glass, that the city would not sell the building but would consider offering a long-term lease extension.

McVay currently has a 10-year lease with an option for another 10 years. He said in previous interviews he wanted to purchase the building because it was the right time and he had proven his business was successful. Perhaps more importantly, he did not want to be at the whims of city hall and find less favorable elected officials in office.

Langley business owner Kim Tiller said the city should keep the steady rent. Port of South Whidbey Commissioner Ed Halloran asked the city to consider if it wanted to be in the property management/leasing business.

Prior to the executive session, a closed-door meeting of the council, mayor and pertinent staff, Councilwoman Robin Black said she was informed by “several people” that the city should keep the building. Its iconic look in the heart of the commercial core made it a valuable asset, she said, and losing it would be a shame.

The building itself is not fit for much else, Glass said. McVay’s hot shop, a blown-glass art studio and gallery, mitigates the lack of insulation in the old concrete block building that used to house fire trucks decades ago.

“The building is iconic, there’s no question about it,” Glass said.

“The only reason it works for Callahan is he’s got a 2,500-degree oven in there,” he later said, adding that no other buyers made an offer on the property because of the prohibitive cost of renovating or rebuilding on the lot.

McVay offered to buy the building for $350,000 and grant a permanent easement for the city’s use of the parking spots behind it. Valuation of the property, which is actually two lots, has fluctuated much like the rest of the real estate market over the past decade. The Island County Assessor’s most recent roll valuation was for $688,045.

Glass claimed that, because the entire property would not be available for McVay’s use, as per the city’s request for proposal which required an easement on the parking lot, the value should reflect that reality. He felt the offered price was more than fair.

Councilwoman Rene Neff said it would help to know what the city would do with the sale money, such as purchasing another building as a business incubator or other facility to spur development in town.