Did Lexington’s Gatton Park violate an agreement with a major donor? Lawsuit alleges so
.JPG "Manny Hernandez, right, plays with the water features during the opening of Gatton Park on Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025, in Lexington, Ky.")
Lexington’s Gatton Park on the Town Branch is filled with features named after major donors to the private park, including the Spendthrift Farm Great Lawn, CommonSpirit Health Stage and even the park’s name itself, designated in honor of the Bill Gatton Foundation.
But its water play area has no such name, despite a lawsuit alleging that a donor who pledged $2 million was meant to have say over the feature’s name.
Susan Naylor, a Texas-based rancher and president of the Will Smith Foundation, which she established in honor of her late son of the same name, filed a lawsuit against Gatton Park for not following the agreement signed regulating the foundation’s donation.
Naylor made a pledge of $2 million to be paid in five annual installments of $400,000. Two of those payments have been made. But Naylor wants that money back after alleging the park did not allow her to name the water feature, which she believes was a condition of the donation.
The agreement between the park and Naylor, filed as evidence in the lawsuit, stipulated that the water feature’s signage would recognize the gift with the language, “Thanks to Susan Naylor, on behalf of her son William Naylor Smith.”
The agreement also says “the Park and Board will consult with (Naylor) on how (she) would like the Gift to be recognized and displayed” prior to construction and installation of the feature’s sign.
In June 2023, Gatton Park publicly announced the feature would be named after Smith.
But the feature, simply called Waterplay, does not bear Smith’s name at all. The lawsuit claims that is a breach of the agreement.
Naylor’s suit says the initial sign posted by the area did include the language giving thanks to her for the donation, but the language was “hastily painted over and covered” after being installed.
The current sign by the water play feature does not recognize Smith.
Other amenities throughout the park, including the Adventure Play playground and the dog park, use similar language thanking supportive donors while not having those donors reflected in the features’ official names.
An email exchange filed as part of the suit shows Naylor was upset with the signage proposed by the park, which staff sent to her before installation.
“It would have been nice for the amount we were asked for to have come up with a clever name, other than ‘water play,’” Naylor wrote in a May 27, 2025, email. “And the signage is very bland,” she added.
Additionally, Naylor claims she was not invited to the park’s August 2023 groundbreaking ceremony.
“I’m not sure what kind of non-profit experience you all have had in the past, but I have never, ever experienced this kind of treatment as a donor before — even involving much smaller amounts,” she wrote.
“Other than taking my money and taking me to lunch — you’ve done zero to include me.”
The lawsuit also claims the park’s August 2025 grand opening ceremony was planned “without consideration” of Naylor’s schedule.
Naylor asked in the May 27, 2025, email for the park to return the money that had already been paid as part of the pledge.
“Not being able to name the actual area - I’m done,” she wrote.
The lawsuit says Gatton Park has refused to return the money.
The agreement specifically states any “installment paid toward this pledge is irrevocable and non-refundable.”
Allison Lankford, CEO of Gatton Park, wrote a June 6, 2025, email to Naylor offering a meeting with her and the park’s board to work on a solution to address Naylor’s concerns. That email was included in the lawsuit.
“I want to be sure your voice is heard and your intentions are fully reflected as we move forward,” she wrote.
Lankford said in the same email the design for the park’s various signs, including the one for the water play, was meant to be uniform to “ensure consistency and clarity throughout the park.”
The agreement says Gatton Park can remove the agreed-upon name from the water play feature if Naylor defaults on any payments or if the name would “adversely impact the reputation, image, mission or integrity” of the park.
While two of the agreed installments were paid by the agreement’s specified deadlines in 2023 and 2024, the lawsuit and accompanying exhibits indicate that no payment was made by the agreed-upon deadline in 2025.
If the agreement is terminated, the park “shall have no further obligation or liability to (Naylor) and shall not be required to return any portion of the Gift already paid,” according to the document.
Gatton Park told the Herald-Leader it has “fully complied with its commitments in connection with her donation.”
“The allegations in the complaint are wholly unfounded, and they will be vigorously defended in the courtroom,” she said.
This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 3:25 PM.
