A Message From Mayor Chris Riley

LETTER TO LEON VALLEY CITIZENS

From Mayor Chris Riley

October 24^th, 2025

                           WHAT’S HAPPENING IN LEON VALLEY?   

Friday, October 24^th – Leon Valley Elementary School Fall Festival, beginning at 5 p.m. at 7111 Huebner Road.  Open to the public.

Saturday, October 25^th – Coffee with the Mayor & Council, 9-11 am at the Leon Valley Conference Center.  This is your opportunity to let the Council know of any concerns or issues you may have.  No decisions are made at the meeting, but Council can place an item on a future agenda.

Saturday, October 25^th – CELEBRATE ARBOR DAY!  Residents are eligible to receive (2) free trees, outside the Leon Valley Conference Center (5421 Evers) between 9 am and Noon, while supplies last. This is made possible in partnership with CPS Energy and City of Leon Valley and helps support the City of Leon Valley’s Tree Challenge of planting 10,000 trees by 2025.

Saturday, October 25^th – Leon Valley Library:  Halloween Party (11:30 -12:30 pm) and Haunted House from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm.

October 28^th, 30^th and 31^st – Leon Valley Library – Haunted House will be open from 2:30 – 5:30 p.m.

October 24^th thru October 31^st – Early Voting Continues at the Leon Valley Conference Center (and other county wide sites) for the November 4^th election. Seventeen State Constitutional Amendments as well as Bexar County’s Referendum A & B. For pros and cons of the issues, see the Voters Guide from the League of Women voters online or at the library

                        CITY COUNCIL MEETING –October 21, 2025

      Special Thanks to the over 26 young men from Boy Scout Troop 515 who led the Council and citizens in the Pledge of Allegiance. They were working on their Citizenship in the Community Merit Badge.  We were honored by their presence as our future leaders!

          The following are highlights of council actions from the October 21, 2025 council meeting which began at 6:30 p.m. and ended at 9:28 p.m.

                                        PRESENTATIONS

Proclamation to the Najera Family in Recognition of Ramon Najera – Master Sergeant Najera, who was a Leon Valley resident, tragically lost his life in a senseless dog attack in San Antonio on Feb. 24, 2023 as he shielded his beloved wife Janie from harm.  This was his final act of bravery after decades of service in the United States Air Force. The City of Leon Valley proclaimed October 21^st as “Master Sergeant Ramon Najera, Jr. Day” to honor his life, reflect on his service, and extend our deepest sympathies to his family.

Introduction of Recently Promoted and Hired Police Officers – Police Chief David Gonzalez introduced newly promoted Corporal John Fernandez, who is assigned to Pavona Place neighborhood.  Additionally, three newly hired officers, Gabriel Dean, Garrison Vera and Patrice Diaz were recognized and welcomed to our city.  These officers will be assigned to neighborhoods to promote community policing.

Presentation on the County’s Venue Tax Election – Jim Lefko, Director of Communications in County Judge Peter Sakai’s office, summarized Proposition A and Proposition B which are on the November 4^th ballot.

       Proposition A will enhance Bexar County facilities – the Frost Bank Center, Freeman Coliseum grounds, allowing the rodeo to expand to year- round operations. (Did you know that the Stock Show in February generates $350 million in revenue?) Proposition B would partially fund a new Spurs downtown arena up to $311 million.  The Spurs have committed $500 million towards the new downtown arena and $1.5 million for development costs as well as covering all cost overruns.

       The propositions would increase the venue tax, meaning visitors to the City will pay a slight increase in hotel-motel taxes ($3.50 to $4.00 more) on a $200 hotel bill as well as 5% in car rental fees.  There will be no impact on homeowners/renters and no money diverted from the General Fund from property taxes.  This is a tourist tax. $192 million will be generated for Proposition A and $311 million for Proposition B over the next 30 years.

       Karen Lockhart from the Stock Show and Rodeo non-profit said that there are plans to develop the Coliseum area into a year round venue generating $700 million per year.  Karen emphasized their goal is to educate the youth of Texas; they currently distribute $12 million per year in scholarships.  This amount would increase if Proposition A is passed.

Discussion on Relocating the Evers Road Speed Indicator Sign near Adair- The goal for the radar sign is to notify drivers of their current speed before they get to Adair so they would slow down before reaching Adair.  Moving it down the hill toward Seneca was discussed.  It was then noted t a warning sign for Evers and Adair is on back order. This sign will improve the safety of the residents exiting the Adair neighborhood.  The consensus was to wait until this sign has been received and discuss placement of the two signs there for maximum effectiveness.

Discussion of the Financial Report for  Fiscal Year ending 9/30/2025 – Overall General Fund revenues were at 93% collected versus budgeted and expenditures were at 76% spent. Staff reiterated there were still many outstanding bills, and the sales tax reporting is incomplete, so this was an unaudited report.  The Enterprise Fund (Water Company) revenues were at 83.5 % of budget and expenditures were at 70%. Red Light Tickets issued in FY 2025 were down by 33% as compared to the number of tickets issued in FY 2024. Improved driver behavior was noted as one reason for the decrease.  The number of tickets paid in FY 2025 was down 1.57% from FY 2024.

REGULAR AGENDA

Council Considered Approval of an Ordinance Closing Robin Road for Public Purpose – Property owner John Marshall High School has petitioned the City to abandon, vacate & quitclaim the right-of-way known as Robin Road. The road is substandard and NISD intends to close the street and build a new John Marshall Drive further towards Thunderbird Drive. Bluebird Road will also be reconstructed by NISD to provide a new turn lane. The developer will build a new parking lot on the roadway property.  The City will accept the new street after construction and be responsible for future maintenance. The Council directed staff to place this agenda item on the November 18^th Consent Agenda for final approval.

Discussion on an Ordinance Amending Chapter 15 “Zoning” Planned Development District (PDD) -  The City manager began by distinguishing between a PDD and Mixed Use (MU) zoning.  A PDD provides flexibility to a subdivision site which is a “superior” development, whereas a MU is limited to a specific project site, usually one building. What was added in the proposed ordinance was a Criteria sheet with points based on tangible areas, e.g., preserve all heritage trees – 5 pts. There were 5 Criteria listed:  Open Space & Environment, Community Benefit, Mobility & Connectivity, Urban Design and Quality and Sustainability.  At the end of a stimulating discussion, it was decided the council will review the criteria again and suggest scoring changes to the city manager, as well as any changes to the actual ordinance (Exhibit A).  The manager will prepare a spreadsheet of the Council’s answers and present them at the November 18^th council meeting.

Discussion on Authorizing a Budget Adjustment from the Enterprise Fund Reserve in the Amount of $910,894 for the El Verde Road Water and Drainage Improvements Project and Authorizing the City Manager to Enter into a Contract with D& D Construction, Inc. for these improvements – The City was awarded a $1.3 million grant from Bexar County under the American Rescue Funds. D& D Construction, Inc. was the lowest bidder. Project costs will be reimbursed by Bexar County at the successful completion of the project.  Council was in favor of the project and directed the city manager to place this agenda item for a second read in the Consent Agenda at the November 18^th council meeting.

Council Voted Unanimously To Recommend Awarding Armstrong, Vaughan & Associates for the services of External Auditing for Fiscal Years 2026, 2027 and 2028. There were only two submissions and both CPA firms were qualified and experienced public accounting firms with no conflict of interest with the City of Leon Valley. The Audit Selection Committee through an independent scoring matrix recommended Armstrong Vaughn to serve again as the city’s auditing firm for the next three years. Council voted unanimously to approve.

Executive Session to Deliberate about real property at 6908 Poss Road – After discussion regarding the potential sale of the property to the City at this location next to Rimkus Park, the Council by a vote of 4 ayes and 1 nay, motioned for the City Manager to obtain an appraisal on this property.

        The next City Council meeting is on Tuesday, November 4^th at 6:30 pm. Please be careful and stay safe on Halloween. Special thanks to the six neighborhoods who hosted a National Night Out gathering on October 7^th. 

        The Council and I are here to serve you. Please do not hesitate to contact us if we can help in any way.

Sincerely, Chris

(210) 618-2092 (cell)

mayorriley@leonvalleytexas.gov