Someone is testing the waters in Douglas County to determine if there is interest in conducting a feasibility study for a recreation center through a public-private partnership.

During the Douglas County Commission meeting Wednesday night, Commission Chairman Charles Jones said he had been approached recently by someone making that inquiry. He declined to identify the person or give any more details.

Jones did say the person had apparently approached other entities in the county about the matter and would probably go public about the proposal soon. Jones and Commissioners Bob Johnson and Jere McElhaney said they would be interested in listening to a proposal.

Otherwise, commissioners spent most of their meeting as if they were in a language class. They said they would like clearer language in certain areas of the chapter on transportation, streets and roadways in Horizon 2020. The chapter was initially brought before them to approve certain amendments. Horizon 2020 is a planning and development guide used by the county and the City of Lawrence. Commissioners also said they wanted wording changes that would make the document more inclusive of the county.

Language clarification also was requested in Horizon 2020’s chapter on industrial- and employment-related land use. The document had been approved by the Lawrence City Commission during a Tuesday night meeting.

Commissioners said they had no problem with the policies outlined in the document but that they would like to know specifically how the new wording differs from the earlier wording.