Lifestyle

5 Things You Didn’t Know About Leon Valley

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Tony Maples Photography

 

Leon Valley is surrounded on all sides by the ever-growing city of San Antonio. Although this is the case, the citizens have maintained their own identity and close community. Here are a few things you may not know about Leon Valley.

1. It is its own municipality.

In the 1950s, with the growth of San Antonio ever-expanding towards its current-day sprawl, the residents of Leon Valley did not want to be incorporated as part of the rapidly growing city. The petition the citizens put together was honored and Leon Valley, though surrounded by San Antonio, remains to this day, its own independent municipality.

2. Its historical society does more than preserve documents.

Welcome to Leon Valley

Photo: Flickr/Gabriel Balderas

Leon Valley has a vibrant historical society doing big work in the local community. Along with preserving historical documents, buildings, and genealogies, the historical society has also established a homestead. Currently, the main project is the restoration of the Huebner-Onion Homestead. The society is developing trails and exhibits with the hopes of having the area become a State Natural Area. The society is also seeking to establish outdoor classroom spaces for community enrichment and educational activities.

3. Its public library goes above and beyond.

Welcome to the Book Palace

Photo: Stocksnap.io/Michael D. Beckwith

The Leon Valley Public library that houses 50,000 books. The library also offers subscriptions to ebooks, audiobooks, and downloadable audiobooks. One service the library offers that goes above and beyond the services any normal library is that of their House Calls service. That’s right, for members who are homebound or can’t get out for any reason, the library will deliver books and materials to your home for free. All you have to do is call.

4. It invests in local economy.

In 2008, Leon Valley voters agreed to pass an interesting type of tax. The official name of the tax was “4B Economic Development Sales Tax.” While the name of the initiative doesn’t exactly roll off your tongue, the tax added to all sales and purchases made in Leon Valley is invested into grants for local business owners, relocation, and revitalization projects in the community. The sales tax has provided countless dollars of support since its beginnings and only takes 1/8 of a penny each purchase.

5. It has an award-winning fire department.

Award Winning FD

Photo: Stocksnap.io/Ashim D’Silva

In 2015, the Leon Valley Fire Department won the “Community Service Award” issued by the International Code Council. The award goes to organizations that perform “meritorious service by an organization that promotes the public health, safety and welfare by initiating activities or actions which are considered to be above and beyond the normal expectation.”

The LVFD was awarded the honor for their initiatives at spreading awareness over cooking related fires. As a result, cooking related fires were reduced by 50%.