When it comes to setting city goals for the next year, City Commissioner Mike Dever said he’d be pleased if environmental leaders stopped laughing when the city promotes itself as a “green community.”

But to accomplish that, Dever said, the city likely is going to have to figure out a way to begin a curbside recycling program.

“I’m not saying we can afford it, but I am saying it is a strike against us in our efforts to be perceived as a green community,” he said. “It is like looking at the stats of a football player who wants to be a wide receiver but can’t catch the ball.”

The longtime topic of curbside recycling was one of many that emerged at the City Commission’s goal-setting session Tuesday afternoon.

Commissioners made no final decisions at the session, but staff members said they would bring back a report on the feasibility of curbside recycling, and particularly would look for opportunities for the city to create a test program.

The idea has been studied before, but staff members have recommended against creating a curbside recycling program because of concerns about cost — estimates are it would add $9 to $12 per month to residential trash bills — and about whether such a program would significantly increase the city’s recycling rate. Staff members also have noted there are private firms that offer the service to Lawrence residents.

But commissioners on Tuesday were in agreement that part of the city’s economic development strategy should be to attract companies in the growing “green energy” sector.

“I take my stuff to the Wal-Mart recycling center, and it is not a big deal,” Commissioner Aron Cromwell said. “But it is a big strike against us on that green scorecard. It is very hard to make an argument that we’re green without a curbside program.”

Mayor Rob Chestnut, though, said he wanted the city to be careful to not “fall in a trap” of creating a curbside program simply because other communities have done so. “I’m not convinced that a lot of the recycling programs around the country are very sustainable,” he said.

Other ideas included:

• A possible revamping of the current Lawrence Public Library. Cromwell said he would like to hire an architect in the next year to look at ways that the existing library space could be made more functional and inviting.

“When I say a face-lift, I’m not talking about adding square footage,” Cromwell said. “Just changing the carpet, taking the fabric off the walls, just making updates. Right now I feel like we have a concrete bunker that is painted like we are expecting the Russians any moment.”

• Planning work for a possible west Lawrence recreation center. City Manager David Corliss told commissioners that he believed the city should be begin some preliminary work to determine the feasibility of a west Lawrence recreation center.

“We’re not going to be able to build it next year,” Corliss said, “but we can start doing some of the planning on it.”

• Reworking of the city’s development code to make it more friendly to infill development. Several commissioners said they were concerned about how much it costs small businesses to move into downtown or other existing spaces in the city. Many times, the development code requires a new tenant to do a site plan, parking studies and sewer studies before they are allowed to move into an existing space. Those studies can cost $15,000 to $20,000.

Staff members will use Tuesday’s discussions to create a formal list of goals for commissioners to approve this summer.