While 30 Wallingford residents wearing blue "Friends of Tank Farm" tags sat in quiet resignation, the Metropolitan King County Council yesterday took the first step toward selling a parcel of county-owned land near Gas Works Park.

"We're really disappointed," said Karen Buschow, a Wallingford activist, adding that the community isn't giving up its fight to convert the building, now used as a Metro maintenance shop, into a community aquatics center.

The community hopes to convince the city that it's important to preserve the building as a public space, but the city said it wasn't interested, said Marianne Bichsel, spokeswoman for Mayor Greg Nickels. "We were apprised about this, but we have no resources," she said.

Buschow said Wallingford residents had asked the council to put off any decision for 18 months so they could put together a proposal for a new pro-parks bond issue that could be on the ballot in 2007.

But the council yesterday voted 11-1, with Councilman Bob Ferguson opposed, to immediately put out a request-for-proposals (RFP), with hopes of receiving bids by the end of May. A final decision to sell the property would have to go back to the council.

The county has been talking to Touchstone Properties, a commercial real-estate company, about a sale that would give it $3 million in cash and a property exchange worth an additional $8 million for a Metro site. Touchstone made the unsolicited offer about a year ago.

Kevin Desmond, Metro's general manager, said there are two options in the RFP: the offer made by Touchstone or a proposal where the buyer pays $11 million with no replacement for the Metro site.

The property is about the size of a city block and offers a panoramic view of downtown Seattle across Lake Union.

Ferguson said he opposed the RFP because he doesn't think the county has treated the Wallingford residents fairly and he isn't convinced that Metro needs the building. He convinced the council to approve an amendment that sets the minimum bid at the $4.3 million appraised value of the building and land.

"This is an important piece of property for Wallingford," said Ferguson, who represents the community on the council. "It's true we can't control the city, but it is our property, and this is a pivotal decision."

But Cal Hoggard, the county's real-estate-services section manager, said the county will not sell the land for anything less than the $11 million offered by Touchstone. He said the bid must include money for replacing the Metro facility.

"We were not looking to move," Desmond said, "but this is a very good deal."

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com