A Message From Mayor Chris Riley

LETTER TO LEON VALLEY CITIZENS

From Mayor Chris Riley

November 21^st , 2025

                           WHAT’S HAPPENING IN LEON VALLEY?   

Tuesday, November 25^th – Big Rig Petting Zoo, 9 to 11:30 am in Raymond Rimkus Parking lot, 6440 Evers Road. This is a great way to explore big trucks, emergency vehicles, and more!  Kids are able to get in and climb aboard all types of machinery which are necessary to keep our community moving.  The event is free and open to people young and old!

Thursday and Friday, November 27^th and 28^th – Leon Valley city offices and Library are closed for the Thanksgiving holidays. The Library will be open on Saturday, November 29 from 11am to 3 pm.  Our dedicated police and fire departments will continue to keep our residents and businesses safe 24/7 during the holidays.

Monday, December 1^st – Holiday Tree Lighting Ceremony, beginning at 5:30 pm at the Leon Valley Community Center and grounds. We will have a countdown for turning on the thousands of lights in the area, as well as a visit from SANTA.  As in the past, there will be musical performances, food and this year you may see snow in Leon Valley!  This event is free and open to the public. We hope you will join us in bringing in the spirit of the holiday season!

Saturday, December 6^th – Breakfast with Santa, from 9:00 to 11:30 am in the Leon Valley Community Center.  This is a wonderful event with food, music, balloon artist, visiting with Santa and a silent auction.  All proceeds benefit the Leon Valley Friends of the Library.

                        CITY COUNCIL MEETING –November 18, 2025

          The following are highlights of council actions from the November 18, 2025 council meeting which began at 6:30 p.m. and ended at 10:11 p.m.

PRESENTATIONS

Update on the Leon Valley Street Outreach Pilot Program from Alberto Rodriguez, Vice President of Haven for Hope (Haven)- Mr. Rodriguez summarized how Haven for Hope has been working in Bexar County for the last 15 years through a collective model approach.  There are 75 partner agencies to Haven. The City of Leon Valley was the first suburban city to participate in the pilot program to get people off the streets through compassionate counseling. Commissioner’s Court has now expanded the program to Balcones Heights, Live Oak and Converse.

       The Performance Report from August 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025 for two outreach workers efforts for Leon Valley are as follows: 163 individuals enrolled in the Haven program with 79 of those individuals transitioning to shelter or appropriate housing interventions. Most individuals were male between the ages of 35 – 44, with more than one race reflected.  The number one cause of homelessness listed is eviction – could not afford rent. Substance abuse and mental health issues ranked as second and third causes. Mr. Rodriguez urged citizens to get involved by donating slightly used shoes and coats (Haven will pick up), volunteer, or give a financial contribution. For more information, call (210) 220-2383.

Proclamations Presented to 3 Leon Valley Police Officers – Victoria Angermiller, Lucy-Salon Abajian, Sergeant David Trevino and City of San Antonio Officer, Jesus Aguirre for exemplary service in a Missing Person case. The missing person’s daughter requested recognition of these officers for finding and saving her father.  She was overwhelmed by their teamwork, diligence, compassion and professionalism.

Discussion and Direction to Staff on Library Annex Roof Repair – This was a continuation of the discussion from the November 4^th meeting.  The Librarian, Regina Reed and Library Board of Directors President Marianna Christianson provided additional information to the Council.  Public Works Director, Melinda Moritz, updated the cost of a pre-fab building from $300,000 to $200,000. The question for Council is what to do with the Library Annex, which is used to store used books for sale by the Friends of the Library.  It has a hole in the roof and is not ADA compliant.  After a lengthy discussion, council voted to wait on a decision until after the January 24^th Town Hall meeting when the city’s infrastructure needs will be discussed with the citizens, but to close the annex in the months of December and January due to safety concerns. 

Update on Oak Wilt in Leon Valley – David Dimaline, Assistant Public Works Director, explained what oak wilt is and how it spreads. How to treat Oak Wilt and slow down the spread of the tree disease was also discussed. Maps developed by Texas A&M Forest Service showed the Monte Robles (Bluebird area) and the Evers Road area in Castle Estates and Forest View in Forest Oaks as being affected by Oak Wilt. Oak Wilt training with Texas A&M Forest Service will be held in spring, 2026. There is an Oak Wilt brochure staff has developed as well as the manual pump kit which can be lent out to those individuals who want to treat their trees with fungicide. Call Public Works at (210) 681-1232.

REGULAR AGENDA

Council Approved (2) In-Kind Grants for AARP Tax Service and Volunteer Training at the Community and Conference Centers in January (training) and February – April for tax preparation –The amount of facility rental fees waived for training is $11,565 and for tax preparation, $17,850. The Council approved these two in-kind grants for 2026, but with the caveat that AARP will need to find another facility for training their volunteers (who work in 10 sites throughout the County) for 2027.  It was noted that the Leon Valley site processes the most tax returns in the County. In April, 2025, there were over 200 Leon Valley  citizens who benefitted from this free tax service.

Discussion on an Ordinance Authorizing Budget Adjustments from General Fund, Red Light Camera, Enterprise Fund and Street Maintenance Funds for a total of $4,370,645 from FY 2025 to FY 2026 AND $28,000 budget adjustment in the Information Technology for funding the migration to Microsoft 365 – Basically, these projects were not completed in the last fiscal year, so the monies allocated are being moved to the current fiscal year (26) budget. The detailed list of projects is found on agenda packet, page 181. This action will enable the projects to get completed this fiscal year.  Council was in favor of the budget adjustments and directed the city manager to place this agenda item for a second read in the Consent Agenda at the December 2, 2025 council meeting.

Discussion on an Ordinance Authorizing a Budget Adjustment for FY 2026 from the Enterprise Fund Reserve in the amount of $454,630 for the 2025 Forest Oaks Sewer Main Improvements Project – This is the first phase of the plan to address the city’s 50+ year old sewer pipes.  Asst. Public Works Director David Dimaline recommended awarding and authorizing the city manager to enter into a contract with RL Jones, LP, the lowest and best qualified bidder in the amount of $844,878, including a 15% contingency of $126,732.   Other monies applied to this project: $500,000 from the FY 26 budget for sewer repair, $37,017 rollover from FY26, and engineering paid to date of $91,513. Replacing 2,700 feet of existing 8 inch sewer main, new manholes, and new 6 inch sanitary sewer laterals are included in the improvements. Council was in favor of the budget adjustment and directed the city manager to place this agenda item for a second read in the Consent Agenda at the December 2^nd   council meeting.

Discussion of Ordinances to Amend the Code for Registration of Dogs and Cats – The traditional pet registration and license tag will be replaced with a microchip, which serves as required registration.  This service is FREE through animal/code enforcement. Staff has provided statistics that dogs who are micro chipped are reunited with their owner faster, thus cutting down on city and staff resources. Council directed staff to place these agenda items for a second read on the December 2^nd council meeting.

        The next City Council meeting is on Tuesday, December 2^nd  at 6:30 pm.  The Council and I are here to serve you. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can help in any way.

Wishing you and your family a safe and Happy Thanksgiving.  We have a lot to be thankful for.

Sincerely, Chris

(210) 618-2092 (cell)

mayorriley@leonvalleytexas.gov