New city hall for Lexington is off the table. For now.

Lexington won’t be getting a new city hall any time soon.

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted Tuesday during a council work session to cancel a meeting scheduled for Thursday to discuss Phoenix Park as a possible site for a new city government center.

Councilwoman Susan Lamb made the motion to nix the meeting, saying she felt the council needed to “take a deep breath” before proceeding with a new location for a city government center. The Thursday meeting had been proposed by Lamb after the council voted 7 to 5 on Sept. 13 against moving forward with a private-public partnership to renovate and remodel the Lexington Herald-Leader building.

Lamb said during the work session that the council should probably wait until the next mayor is elected before resuming talk about a new city hall. Lexington Mayor Jim Gray will leave office in December.

Ronnie Bastin, a former Lexington police chief and public safety commissioner, faces Linda Gorton, a former vice mayor and city councilwoman, in the Nov. 6 general election. Most of the 15-member council is also up for re-election in November.

Lamb said she thinks the city needs a new city government center. The city has debated moving and consolidating its employees from five downtown buildings to one location for decades. The city says those buildings have at least $22 million in deferred maintenance needs.

Lamb said she will put the issue of a possible location for a new government center into a committee for the council to discuss at a later date. The council took a voice vote to cancel the Thursday meeting. It appeared no one voted against the motion.

Dennis Anderson, the owner of Park Plaza apartments, which is adjacent to Phoenix Park, said he opposed shoehorning a new city government center next to one of downtown’s largest apartment complexes. Anderson said he had an easement that went through the park.

Others had urged the council to slow down.

In an interview with the Herald-Leader on Sept. 14, Gorton encouraged the council to “take a deep breath” before plowing forward with the Phoenix Park location. “I think they need to get perspective on things. It would be helpful if they could come together and figure out what their priorities are,” Gorton said at the time.

Gorton and Bastin did not say whether they like the Phoenix Park location.

“We must take time to assess the priorities for our community before moving forward,” Bastin said. “As mayor I will take a hard look at ideas for addressing our need for a new city hall.”