CHARLOTTE, N.C. —  To put on any type of event in the Eva Barber neighborhood, you previously had to go through Mrs. Barber herself. 

What You Need To Know 

• Over 20 neighborhood groups came together to address Mecklenburg County about concerns with using neighborhood parks
• Neighborhood leaders say they want a clear process for policies, fees and better communication between community organizers and commissioners
• They also want the county to allow four free events per year for nonprofits that don’t charge admission to those events

“She was the police on that phone,” Shamaiye Haynes said. 

Haynes met Barber a few years ago, and soon Barber took Haynes under her wing.

“She kind of showed me the ropes of how things worked both on the city and the county level,” she said. 

After Barber passed away two years ago, Haynes soon realized the struggles she faced maintaining the park. 

“It really wasn’t as clear at the time that there were all these hurdles because nobody fought with Mrs. Barber,” Haynes said. 

Trying to go through the county to host events in the park became one of Haynes’ biggest challenges. 

“One minute it might be just a $1 million certificate of insurance, the next minute it may be more,” she said. 

But she soon realized she wasn’t alone. 

Haynes and over 20 other neighborhood groups came together to address the county about concerns with using neighborhood parks.  

“Define for us a process,” Haynes said. “That helps create equity.” 

Below are the concerns they are hoping the county will address: 

• Existing policies are often unclear, ad hoc and extensively bureaucratic, with significant paperwork and timeline requirements that can make it incredibly difficult for volunteer organizations to manage. 
• Existing pricing structures are often incredibly prohibitive, greatly reducing the use of public park space by the communities that fund them through their tax dollars. These pricing policies have a particularly damaging effect on smaller and less affluent communities, which stands in marked contrast with the county’s commitment to equality and diversity. 
• The communities who could benefit most from hosting events in public parks are often the ones impacted the most by prohibitive fees and requirements. 
• The Mecklenburg County fee schedules — which are often unclear and ad hoc — appear to be seriously inconsistent with those offered by comparative municipalities, such as Atlanta, Greenville, S.C. and Wake County, N.C. 
• The current upkeep, management and facilities of many neighborhood parks, particularly in smaller and less affluent communities, are woefully inadequate. We feel that encouraging community use of these spaces will help create investment from the communities that will both incentivize better community upkeep and create a more effective feedback mechanism with the Parks Dept. long-term. 
• Throughout this process, it has become increasingly clear that there is a significant lack of communication and coordination between Parks and the communities they serve. Parks officials have routinely downplayed our concerns and their replies have been seriously out of tune with the feedback we’ve received from our neighbors. 

In their letter, they also added the following recommendations that the county could implement:

• Free use of neighborhood park space for community nonprofits when the event does not a.) charge a fee to those who attend or b.) create significant additional costs for parks for extra labor, trash removal, etc. When additional costs are incurred by the department, fees to the community groups should be commensurate, not ad hoc. 
• Streamline the application process to reduce red tape. Make sure that pricing and application steps and reservation costs are clearly stated and easily accessible for anyone. 
• A holistic review of pricing and requirements (including police and insurance, etc.) to find out what is the minimum necessary to ensure safety. Right now, insurance costs alone prevent many groups from formally using park space, despite the fact that those same folks could go to those parks independently, do the same things, and not have to pay for insurance. 
• A concerted effort from Parks to better engage with the communities they serve by asking for routine feedback from community leaders and routinely attending community meetings and events, as well as making every reasonable accommodation to address issues that arise from those interactions.

Barber may no longer be here, but Haynes plans to continue fighting to make sure her neighbors can enjoy the park as Barber intended. 

Spectrum News 1 reached out to Mecklenburg County’s Park and Recreation Department, which provided us with this statement: 

“The Park and Recreation Department appreciates input from neighborhood residents.  It has been standing practice for many years to permit neighborhood associations or a neighborhood Homeowner Associations to utilize their Neighborhood Park for two neighborhood family-oriented events per calendar year at no charge. Qualifying locations includes neighborhood parks or open spaces. The HOA will be required to pay any direct cost or fees incurred for staffing and other event related costs. Events must meet the following criteria:

• Be open to the entire public at no charge
• Be family friendly
• Be appropriate to the park or facility setting
• Offer activities or events associated with the department’s core program areas”