COOS BAY — Six weeks have passed since Coos Bay residents gave the city $6.9 million to build a new fire station, yet there remains a question of where it will be built.

The city’s first choice still is to construct it on property currently held by the First Presbyterian Church of Coos Bay, 438 Elrod Ave.

City staff have met with church officials several times, though a formal offer has not yet been presented.

The most recent meeting took place Wednesday, as Mayor Jeff McKeown and City Manager Chuck Freeman spoke with First Presbyterian representatives.

Freeman said they discussed timelines and changes taking place at the church, such as the departure of interim pastor Bill Taylor.

“They are still interested,” he said. “But we still have a lot of work ahead of us.”

Reni Woods, a church elder, said this week’s meeting was meant to gather information in advance of a church session meeting on Wednesday. The session consists of five church members and the church’s moderator, the Rev. John Hubbard.

Once the session discusses the matter, it could then present the property sale proposal to the congregation in the first part of August.

McKeown said it won’t be until August at the earliest that the City Council will have anything to act upon. He said it is important not to rush the church.

“I want to be sensitive to them,” he said. “It’s an emotional decision, as well as a financial one.”

The city prefers the site because it has relatively shallow bedrock, which would cut down on the cost of foundation work.

It also is centrally located, maintaining the fire department’s ability to respond quickly to fires in the downtown and Eastside areas.

Estimates from an October 2007 council meeting put the cost of building a fire hall at the Elrod site at $5.5 million, compared to $6.2 million at the corner of Curtis Avenue and Fourth Street. The estimates did not include site acquisition costs.

The idea of purchasing the property from the church arose last June after church officials suggested they might be willing to sell the property to the city.

Freeman said the city is keeping other options open if the church decides not to sell its property. The hope is that construction on the new station could begin sometime during the 2009 construction season.