City council tonight was lengthy and I’ll write a more comprehensive report soon. But of great importance to the city, my wife, and me was the Park discussion.
Preface: my wife as part of the Parks commission designed a new park that incorporates a splash pad, large chess set, new bathrooms, local plants, history, and a small amphitheatre . Below is a written version of my speech in support of the park (instead of a parking lot).
I studied Architecture and when my wife presented the plans to me, I was surprised and extremely impressed with the thought, design and community centeredness of this park.
This is indeed a city wide issue, it is adjacent to two major city parks: the pool and Raymond Rimkus.
Today, I talked with a Community organizer from San Antonio. He told me that the only way for us, as Leon Valley, to succeed was to take on the identity of San Antonio. He said we didn’t have enough people, enough to offer. How many times have we and our citizen said “I live in San Antonio” when describing where we live?
And when I look at numbers like 854 and 7.6% I wonder. If you don’t recall those numbers they’re from the election. About 854 people or 7.6% of our population voted.
Why? Why do we have such low turnout?
Perhaps it comes down to identity. We have a rich history, but few places to learn about it. We have a rich culture, with Folklorico, folk dance, and off-road RC racing.
We need more monuments to our history, more cultural exhibitions, more places to meet, more art to see, and more, well, Leon Valley.
We need to build “Leon Valley” not just as a business hub but also a cultural hub.
This park is one step towards encouraging our citizens to say proudly: “I live in Leon Valley.”