On September 10 following the Community Meeting, neighborhood representatives received an e-mail from Tim Ivey, CMS COO. This was subsequently shared by those neighborhood representatives in an e-mail update to residents of Madison Park .
On September 22, 2026 a neighborhood representative sent the below e-mail to CMS COO Tim Ivey providing historical Madison Central Park records, clarifying the scope of the DYSA field use, outlining requested protections and community-engagement provisions, and requesting clarification regarding the Joint Use Agreement process.
Tim,
Thank you again for the September 10th meeting and for sending the follow-up. We appreciate you for taking the time to hear the community’s concerns and work toward a different path forward for Madison Central Park. I know there were a lot of perspectives and questions to work through, and I appreciate your willingness to engage with us directly and continue the conversation.
I wanted to provide the historical documentation we discussed so that CMS has the full record regarding the development and longstanding use of Madison Central Park. The attached materials document CMS’ involvement in the original planning process, CMS’ written support for the park and the Neighborhood Matching Grant, the City of Charlotte’s grant funding, the neighborhood’s matching contributions, community volunteer efforts, and the improvements made to the property. Most of these records were obtained through public-records requests to the City of Charlotte, and I am providing them together here so CMS has the same historical materials available as it considers the next steps for the property.
I’d also like to clarify one point in the follow-up regarding “practice field activities.” Like you, we initially understood the DYSA project to be for practice fields. As we learned more, however, the CMS/DYSA agreement expressly states that the fields were intended for both practices and games. My July 31st conversation with DYSA President Chris Pineno also confirmed that games were contemplated. I think that distinction is important and I wanted to clarify it so we are all working from the same record as we move forward.
We appreciate that the September 10th meeting gave us an opportunity to begin moving forward collaboratively. I think CMS and the community share an interest in making sure we do not find ourselves in this situation again. With that in mind, we wanted to note specific requests, many of which we raised Thursday, as CMS and Mecklenburg County work through the process of adding Madison Central Park to the Joint Use Agreement:
1. Community and legal review before finalization
We are requesting that the proposed site-specific terms affecting Madison Central Park, together with any materials necessary to understand those terms, be provided to designated community representatives at least 30 days before those terms are approved, executed or otherwise become final. During that period, community representatives and independent legal counsel should have an opportunity to review the proposed language, ask questions and provide written feedback while revisions can still be considered.
2. Durable protection of the park’s flexible-use nature
We are requesting clear, site-specific and durable protection preserving Madison Central Park as flexible-use community green space and protecting against its future conversion into dedicated athletic facilities or other dedicated-use development that would fundamentally change its flexible-use character, including facilities developed primarily for organized sports league use, while recognizing CMS’ legitimate educational needs.
This is not intended to prevent children from playing sports, school activities, general recreational use, or recreational improvements that are consistent with the park’s flexible-use nature. We are not prescribing a particular legal mechanism at this point. Potential options could include a deed restriction, deed amendment, strong site-specific restrictions within the Joint Use Agreement, or another legally enforceable and durable mechanism. We are asking CMS to identify what mechanisms it believes are legally available to provide meaningful long-term protection and whether it is willing to consider those options as part of this process.
3. Advance notice and meaningful community input
We are requesting a written process providing the surrounding community with advance notice and a meaningful opportunity for input before a significant future change in the use or development of Madison Central Park is approved, authorized or executed.
For purposes of this request, a significant change would include new construction, substantial new infrastructure, a material change in the nature or intensity of use, or another change that could materially affect the park’s flexible-use character or surrounding community. For any community meeting or formal input opportunity, residents should receive at least 14 days’ advance notice, with the relevant proposal and materials made available at the time notice is provided so residents have a meaningful opportunity to review them and participate. The notice period should not fall substantially within a school holiday or other period when meaningful community participation would reasonably be diminished.
Separately, we are collecting contact information from residents who would like CMS and Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation to have a direct way to communicate with them regarding Madison Central Park. This is separate from the Save Madison Central Park contact list, and residents are specifically signing up to have their information shared for that purpose. Once the collection period is complete, we plan to provide that contact list to CMS and the County. Our hope is that this can help establish a direct communication channel with interested residents as we move forward.
4. Appropriate due diligence for significant future changes
Where a proposed significant future change could reasonably create material traffic, parking, stormwater, environmental or noise impacts, we are requesting appropriate independent analysis of the relevant impacts before the proposal is approved, authorized or executed.
For studies dependent on actual school or neighborhood activity—particularly traffic, parking and noise—the data should reflect representative conditions and be collected over multiple days while school is in regular session. Data collection should not be limited to Mondays or Fridays, days immediately before or after school holidays, school breaks, teacher workdays or other periods that would not reasonably reflect typical school and neighborhood conditions. Where relevant, studies should evaluate school arrival and dismissal periods, typical commuting periods, and the anticipated days, hours and peak periods of the proposed use.
Our goal is not to create procedural requirements for their own sake. It is to ensure that significant future decisions are informed by representative information, that residents receive enough information and time to participate meaningfully before decisions are made, and that the framework established now provides clarity for CMS, the County and the community going forward.
Joint Use Agreement Process
We would also appreciate clarification on the current status and approval process for adding Madison Central Park to the Joint Use Agreement. At the September 10th meeting, we understood that an existing Joint Use Agreement or framework was already in place and that additional action would be required to formally add Madison Central Park. To make sure we understand where there is still an opportunity for community review and input, could you please clarify:
What documents, amendments, exhibits, schedules or site-specific terms relating to Madison Central Park have already been drafted, approved, agreed to or signed, if any?
What steps, signatures and approvals remain on the CMS and Mecklenburg County sides, and who has authority to provide each approval?
Whether the Madison Central Park-specific terms remain subject to modification before they become final?
When the Madison Central Park-specific terms will be made available to the community for review?
At what point in the remaining process will CMS consider community feedback and any proposed revisions?
Have you also had an opportunity to discuss the requests above with CMS’ legal team? If so, could you please let us know how CMS believes each request can be addressed, what CMS is able to commit to as part of this process, and the anticipated timeline for completing the Madison Central Park provisions of the Joint Use Agreement?
We would appreciate being included before the Madison Central Park-specific terms are approved, executed or otherwise become final, and while there remains a meaningful opportunity for those terms to be modified. I believe documenting these expectations and protections now gives CMS, the County and the community the best opportunity to avoid the uncertainty and concerns that arose this time.
I appreciate the time you’ve spent on this and your willingness to continue working with us. I’m hopeful we can use this next phase to put a clear framework in place that works well for CMS, the County, and the community going forward.