Advisory board agrees on process to prioritize wide-ranging sustainability proposals

The Lawrence Environmental Sustainability Advisory Board decided to convert a long list of sustainability ideas into an organized, prioritized package for the City Commission. Board members agreed to add key performance indicators to proposals, narrow the list for comparative analysis, and jointly send a full ideation list and a prioritized shortlist to the commission.

"I think what my feeling is that we should actually spend the rest of the time determining a process for prioritization," said a member advocating for a structured approach to rank impact and cost. Members proposed a practical sequence: categorize ideas, add KPIs, narrow to 8–15 high-potential items, run a prioritization exercise (stickers or focus groups), then present the shortlist and the full list with the board's process documentation to the commission. The board also discussed parallel engagement with the city's strategic-plan outreach so advisory input can feed directly into the larger community process.

The board set a near-term tasking: compile the full list of idea submissions, assign KPIs to each, and use the next meeting to perform the prioritization exercise and vote to forward both documents to the commission. The chair said she will work with another board member to organize the suggestions and distribute an agenda early to allow public input before the next meeting.