TONOPAH -- The Tri-County Weed District is asking Nye County for a $450,000 loan to either buy or construct a building in Ely, but there have been some legal questions over financing a project out of the county.

Brandon Vaught, supervisor of the Tri-County Weed Control Program, wrote a letter to commissioners stating it has identified a 6,000-square-foot building in Ely with a listed price of $239,000 for a new shop and office facility.

If that isn't available, the cost of constructing a new building was estimated at $452,000 by an Ely contractor.

The plan is to repay the loan at 8 percent interest for about $50,000 a year.

Michelle Jones, Nye County deputy district attorney, said the county is requesting approval from the Nevada attorney general's office to execute a cooperative agreement.

"We were unclear concerning the legalities of granting a loan to the Tri-County Weed District to construct a facility that wouldn't be located in Nye County," Commissioner Joni Eastley said Tuesday.

The weed district operates out of a four-room building in Ely owned by White Pine County attached to a courthouse annex that also houses the University of Nevada White Pine County Cooperative Extension Service.

Bob Wilson, a member of the board of directors of the weed district, said assets of the district would cover the collateral on the loan. The district provided a list of assets that total $321,363, mostly vehicles.

"I've asked that both Lincoln County and White Pine County guarantee a third of the amount of that loan, should we be disbanded. Lincoln County has done so," Wilson said.

White Pine County is in receivership and is being managed by the Nevada Department of Taxation.

Commissioner Butch Borasky was skeptical. "Do we have $450,000 somewhere we can grab out of a hat here to deal with this?" he wondered.

Assistant County Manager Pam Webster suggested the loan could be paid out of the payment equal to taxes (PETT) fund the county receives from the U.S. Department of Energy for the land value of Yucca Mountain.

Wilson assured Eastley the project would go up for public bid. Eastley said it's important for Nye County to participate in weed eradication in the tri-county area.

Webster reminded Eastley that if the loan defaulted, Nye County would own property outside the county.

"Is there a reason you're not using a standard lending facility?" Webster asked.

Eastley said the weed district isn't a regular agency, but a cooperative and thus can't work through state funding channels.

Eastley suggested it could be an item the county could request for their federal lobbyists, the firm of Akerman-Senterfitt, to pursue under a congressional earmark.

The weed district treated 1.4 million acres in the tri-county area in 2006, taking in $867,520 of income and spending $782,131 according to a report presented to commissioners. The weed district charges $31 per hour for labor, $43 for the trucks.

The weed district lists four full-time employees, with Vaught the top official drawing an annual salary of $46,442. There are two vacant full-time positions and eight seasonal positions.