If a tax to build a new library in Natrona County passes, any money from the sale of the old library building would go toward the new library, the Natrona County Board of Commissioners said Monday.

"We're a department of the county, so the trustees asked the commission last fall what their intentions would be with the building if we were fortunate enough to get a new library," said library director Bill Nelson, who did not attend Monday's meeting. "And they indicated that the proceeds from the sale would go to the library for construction and so forth."

During the public comment portion of the meeting, community member and former state legislator Dick Sadler voiced concern that any possible money from the building should go through normal county budget processes so as not to encounter problems "as far as accountability goes."

The commissioners agreed that any money would go through the proper avenues in anticipation that any proceeds would return to the library from the county's budget.

"Any type of dealing that comes from selling a piece of county property, I will always make sure, the best that I can with one vote, that it always goes back to county coffers, and we go from there," said Commissioner Barb Peryam. "Because I think we need to make sure that we have a trail that is absolutely on the up and up and straight forward."

Chairman Rob Hendry said the commission has received one request from a county agency for possible use of the building, but if that agency were to use the building the library would still receive the worth of sale.

"We haven't gone that far to get down to the nuts and bolts of it," Hendry said.

Nelson said that while he has an idea of what the current library building would be worth, the process of selling the building wouldn't begin unless the community voted for the temporary sixth-cent sales tax in November.

"We wouldn't attempt to sell the building until the people have made a decision. We're not talking about selling the building from underneath the voters. That's not the intent at all," Nelson said. "I would imagine there'd be some kind of a contract that would be made if we got to that point, but we just don't know yet."

Contact reporter Megan Lee at (307) 266-0589 or megan.lee@trib.com