FRANKFORT — Members of a legislative oversight panel Tuesday deferred consideration of a state plan to buy a large tract in Hardin County for future economic development.

        The vote sent state officials scrambling to decide if the purchase, which includes the planned sale of nearly $8 million in bonds next week, can continue.

        The roughly 1,600 acres near Glendale along Interstate 65 was offered to Hyundai Motor Corp. earlier this year as part of an incentive package to attract its first North American assembly plant. Development officials had difficulty getting options on all of the property, which some thought hurt the state's chances with Hyundai, which chose to build near Montgomery, Ala.

        Finance Secretary Kevin Flanery said having the property in hand would give the state a chance to land the next big development project that comes along.

        Members of the Capital Projects and Bond Oversight Committee said they were concerned about the cost of the property and why it is getting preferential treatment over other areas of the state where land is available and jobs are needed.

        Warren Nash of the Economic Development Cabinet said there is some debate about what can happen now. Statutes cover the situation if the committee refuses to recommend the project, which Mr. Nash said could cover deferral. Mr. Flanery can revise the project, cancel it or go ahead notwithstanding the committee's action.

        The entire tract is expected to cost about $17.7 million. The bonds would finance a portion with the remaining cost picked up through a loan from a state economic development fund.

        “It's just my feeling this is not a good asset for the state at this price,” said Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville.

        Sens. Bob Leeper, R-Paducah, and Bob Jackson, D-Murray, said there is a large tract in far western Kentucky already under option that could also be an attractive industrial site.

        Rep. Bob Damron, D-Nicholasville, said the purchase seems to direct a big project to one area when the state budget is tight and no projects are planned elsewhere.

        “I've got 100 other colleagues who'd like to have the same thing,” Damron said.

        Mr. Flanery said the Hardin County site has advantages that might not be available elsewhere in such a large tract. He cited highway and rail transportation as well as proximity to the Louisville airport.

        The Economic Development Finance Authority approved the bond sale for the purchase earlier this month. Mr. Flanery said the bonds were scheduled for sale next week.

        Mr. Nash said he knows of no industrial prospects now interested in the land.

        “We believe it's a piece of property that will remain marketable,” Mr. Flanery said.

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