Hi everyone:

The meeting last week was very successful and we were pleased that almost 50 people from the community were in attendance!  
Over the course of the meeting we learned more about CMS' plans for the site & brainstormed possible park features to be included in our master plan.  We also gained a better understanding of which park features CMS can't support. Here are more details from the meeting:
Todd Sherrill, CMS Site Manager gave us lots of insight into the current status of the project.  
  • Grass seed was planted and he expects that we will have to wait about 90 days before we see any green.  Establishing thick grass will obviously take longer and we'll be looking for community involvement.  
  • As far as a timeline goes, in mid-December he expects the chain-link fence will be removed and by February 1st the space will be turned over to the neighborhood. 
  • CMS will connect the sidewalk that currently ends at the old front entrance of the school, with a sidewalk that extends down Seneca towards Wedgewood.  They will also repave the current parking lot.
  • He encourages us to plant indigenous,  drought-tolerant plants with an eye towards ease of future maintenance.
  • We can request permission to use CMS heavy equipment (bulldozer, tractors etc.) to build the various park features but we must provide lots of notice.
  • CMS will plant 45-60 trees as a buffer between the park and the neighbors whose yards backup to the site.  The trees will be a combination of silver maples and holly.
  • Organized sports fields will not be allowed to be included in the park design.  CMS can't be responsible for trash removal from the site which would be necessary and he believes the neighborhood would be negatively impacted by weekend traffic.
  • CMS will mow the grass and re-mulch the existing playground in perpetuity
  •  Electricity will not be available on the site, the lines have been removed.
  • The water connection has been removed to the back-flow prevented located at the back of the property.  Irrigation may be an option in the future but use will have to be discussed with CMS further.
  • CMS will remain the owner of the land.  We have a 5 year commitment that this site will not be used for other CMS facility needs.  Should the land be needed in the future we would forfeit the use of the land back to CMS.  
Todd Martin, Landscape Architect and Madison Park resident facilitated a brainstorming session and the following items were generated by the audience.  At the end of the meeting we asked all participants to vote for their TOP 3 park elements.  The results of this vote are indicated next to each idea.  The ideas were categorized based on "active", "passive" & "educational" elements:
ACTIVE
  • Open, multi-use fields (11)
  • Frisbee Golf (12)
  • Walking trail around the whole park and school campus (17)
  • Playground (existing) (3)
  • Tennis Courts (1)
  • Life-sized Chess/checker board (0)
PASSIVE
  • Pavilion/picnic area/grills (12)
  • Dog area with pooper-scooper bags available (5)
  • Benches (5)
  • Sculpture Garden (4)
  • Horse-shoe sand pit (1)
  • Permanent checker/chess tables
  • Bocce court (1)
  • Rose Garden (existing) 
EDUCATIONAL
  • Outdoor classroom (5)
  • Community Garden (17)
  • Nature trail signs in conjunction with Walking Path (2)
  • Bluebird houses (0)
  • Rain garden (1)
At the end of the meeting we asked everyone to fill out a questionnaire indicating which area of the park they would like to get involved in.  Here are the results of that survey:
  • Fundraising, 11 people
  • Playground Improvement, 5 people
  • Landscaping, 13 people
  • Establishing grass this Fall & Spring, 7people
  • Community Garden, 12 people, including a volunteer who wants to "head up" the effort!  Love the enthusiasm, thank you Wendy!
  • Dog-related feature, 9 people
  • Walking trail, 11 people
If you weren't able to make it to the meeting but you would like to get involved with any of the efforts please hit reply to this email and let me know.  Should you want to take a leadership role in any of the areas please include that as well.  
What's next?  1) Work further with Todd Martin to develop the second phase of the master plan incorporating community input & CMS guidance.  2)Establish committees and work groups in order to break the project down into manageable areas.  3)  Develop a phased, multi-year plan including a budget.
Thank you to everyone for your support of this project.  
Sincerely,