Nearly four years into their consensus-building effort, members of a committee tasked with blending preservation of open space and locating room for business parks continue their search for money.

Jim Roberts, chairman of the ECO2 committee, asked Douglas County commissioners Wednesday night to kick in $6,000 toward the $16,800 the committee needs to complete its work during the coming year.

But Roberts knows that such an investment would be minuscule compared with the millions of dollars it could take to make the committee’s goals a reality.

“A long-term funding source is something that, in the next year, we’ll have to come to grips with,” said Roberts, interim vice provost for research at Kansas University.

ECO2 originally was created by the Lawrence Chamber of Commerce to find common ground among advocates for causes — industrial development and open-space preservation — that often had been at odds.

The original committee had advocated imposing a 1/4-cent sales tax in the county, with proceeds to be split evenly to address the joint goals. Commissioners then convinced legislators to grant permission for the county to put the issue up to a public vote, but the sluggish economy helped push the idea into the background.

Today, a year after commissioners overhauled the committee membership to inject new life into its efforts, ECO2 members still aren’t sure where to find the money to secure land for both causes. They’ve discussed the idea of offering incentives for people to reserve their land for business parks, or to protect their fields from development.

ECO2 leaders expect to have a more complete work plan completed within a year. At the end of this week, Roxanne Miller, director of the Kansas Land Trust, takes over as chairwoman of ECO2.

Commissioners intend to decide on the request for $6,000 in the coming weeks.