History of the Park

History of the Lamond Property/Gilbert S. McCutcheon Park

For over 60 years, the Slater Lamond Family owned the 18-acre property located at the southern end of Villamay, building their home in 1939 and occupying the house until 1986. In 1998, Harris Development company notified Villamay (VM) residents that they had entered into a preliminary agreement with the Lamond family to clear-cut the trees and excavate the land with the intent to build 32 large homes on the site. A single access point was to be via a spur cut in from Burtonwood Drive. Responding to community concerns, Mt. Vernon Supervisor Gerry Hyland, called a public meeting on 18 August 1998. Over 250 Mt. Vernon area residents attended. During the meeting, Gerry appointed Eleanor Quigley of Wellington Heights as Chair of a Lamond Small Task Force and VM resident Steve Markle as Vice-Chair. The group was charged “To oversee construction plans as they are submitted for review in order to hold ‘developer’s feet to the fire.’” In August 1999 Supervisor Hyland established the Lamond Community Task Force to develop a land use plan for the property, should it be acquired as parkland. In conjunction with county representatives, a core team of Villamay Community Association (VCA) members, neighbors from surrounding communities, business, and athletic interests, crafted the master development plan. Ultimately benefitting from the successful passage of a bond referendum, the county acquired the property in February 2000 from the Lamond family for approximately $4.6M, designating the resource as a Community Park. In May 2012 it was renamed Gil McCutcheon Park in honor of an ardent supporter and long serving member of the FCPA. VCA neighbors serving on the Lamond Small Task Force and the Lamond Community Task Force included: Helen Caplinger, Betty Fees, Patricia Markle, George Pratt, Lee Williams and Sam Wood.

Villamay Community Association Wins the 2017 Elly Doyle Park Service Award

Click on the links below for more park history

Press clippings:

Learn about invasive plants

Join the Villamay Community Association Today!