To the editor:

Thank you for the coverage of the League of Women Voters of Lawrence-Douglas County study and meeting in last Sunday’s Journal-World. I do, however, want to share with your readers the position statement that was adopted at our annual meeting last Saturday:

1. The process of appointing members to the planning commission should be open. There should be a public announcement when vacancies occur, and applications from interested individuals should be accepted and considered by the appointing authorities.

2. The governing bodies of Lawrence and Douglas County should have written policies on eligibility for the planning commission including whether or not there is a residency criterion.

3. The governing bodies of Lawrence and Douglas County should have written policies regarding conflict of interest that apply to members of the planning commission.

4. Planning commission meetings should be televised.

An additional sentence was proposed: “The hope is that the makeup of the Planning Commission will be more representative of the demographics.” Not only did we not include such a statement in our position, we understand that it is the governing bodies, not the planning commissioners, who make the planning commission appointments.

We appreciate all the help that the Journal-World can give as we work together on this daunting task of governing ourselves.

Marci Francisco,

Lawrence