1980: Encino Park was chosen as the site of the Parade of Homes in the spring. By June, MUD #1 was officially organized and home-building was well under way. Sixteen model homes were built along Encino Vista, and Encino Rio was paved as far as the swimming pool (which, along with the tennis courts, was under construction).
1982: A Homeowners Association dominated by the developer was in place, with two homeowners on the board. In the fall, HOA President Bill Jurczyn recruited residents to start a community newsletter. Jean Crowder, Barbara Kelley, and Joanne Tate volunteered, and Deanna White was asked (and agreed) to join the newly formed newsletter committee.
By the end of the year, about 280 families lived in Encino Park, and Forest Village, the Forest, and the Ridge were under development. A newly formed volunteer fire department was based in a temporary building on Encino Way. The entire area had been attached to the Northeast Independent School District (NEISD) pending an appeal (later dismissed) by the Comal County Independent School District (CCISD). The Women’s Club was formed and began a craft class.
1983: The newsletter committee assembled and published the first issue of Encino Park News in January, the same month the Women’s Club distributed the first neighborhood directory, which it had produced. Dotty Hougen donated the paper, block captains (organized by the club and also tasked with welcoming duties) collected information, computer work and copying was accomplished by resident volunteers, and a subcommittee of the club comb-bound the books. Budget, tennis, and swimming pool subcommittees were operating within the club, and unofficial groups included babysitting and vegetable co-ops, a ladies’ bridge club, and pinochle and Bunco groups.
In April, MUD #1 held elections for three places on the Board of Directors, and three Encino Park residents were elected, taking control of the five-member board. Later in the year, a group of homeowners circulated a petition asking the city of San Antonio to annex Encino Park MUD #1; 306 homeowners (from a total of 340 occupied homes) signed the petition, and it was submitted to the city.
By the summer, the swim team was in full operation and swimming lessons began at the pool. The Pool Committee organized pool parties for middle- and high-school students.
The inaugural Women’s Club Craft Fair, featuring handicrafts made by its members, was held at Terry Milton’s home, resulting in a profit for the club.
In early December, the Women’s Club delivered an updated directory, which provided current information about the neighborhood. Costs for the new directory were covered by advertising, and the club earned a net profit on the project. The club also sponsored a Christmas decoration contest and sold waterproof red bows for residents to decorate their mailboxes for the holiday.
1984: The Women’s Club decided to use its accumulated funds to build a playground for Encino Park children. Under Betty Hayes’ leadership, the playground committee solicited donations from the community, including the Redland Worth Corp. (45 tons of pea gravel); U.I.C. Contracting (grading and clearing); Kopplow Construction (a Bobcat and workers to spread the gravel), and the Encino Park builders. These donations, along with $4,000 of seed money from the Women’s Club and the work of many resident volunteers, resulted in the beginning of the playground.
Encino Park—except for MUD #1—was sold to a group of investors in the spring. This sale limited Encino Park proper to the original MUD #1 and three streets that had been developed in the Hollows (i.e., MUD #2).
In April, the first community garage sale was held, marking the first year of what would come to be a popular annual event. Also that spring, the NEISD redrew its school boundaries; neighborhood elementary school students were transferred from Thousand Oaks Elementary to Coker Elementary (where they would remain until the completion of Encino Park Elementary in late 1989).
On July 10, MUD #1 received approval for the construction of an office and storage building on land leased from the HOA. The building was planned to be the new home of the Encino Park Volunteer Fire Department as well as offices for both MUDs.
At the annual meeting of the HOA in October, two board members representing the developer declined to run for reelection, and for the first time homeowners outnumbered developer members on the board. Barbara Kelley and Ray Wilkinson were elected, Karl Sweetman was reelected, Julie Koppenheffer was appointed to fill a term, and Ginger Sweeney became the first Encino Park resident to be elected as President of the HOA board.
On Oct. 7, the Encino Park Volunteer Fire Department disbanded after the City of San Antonio announced plans to annex Encino Park on Dec. 31.
1985: The Encino Park playground was completed and donated to the HOA in January. Also that month, as a result of the annexation to San Antonio, the building on Encino Rio reverted to the HOA. It became the headquarters of the HOA and was later named as the Community Center.
The two large water tanks at the north and south ends of the Encino Park’s original land were completed in March, solving water pressure problems reported by some residents.
1986: Jeanne DeAlba was hired by the HOA in January to be its first professional manager. In March a new voting precinct comprised mostly of Encino Park was formed and designated Precinct 3114. The Women’s Club sponsored the first Easter Egg Hunt for neighborhood children. In the fall of 1986, high-school students were reassigned from MacArthur High School to Churchill High School.
1987: As part of Phase I of a five-phase landscape plan, in February the HOA board began landscaping the common areas and four medians in Encino Rio from Highway 281 to the pool area. The Women’s Club 1987 Craft Fair earned a profit, and the proceeds were set aside to help with later stages of the landscape plan.
1988: Phase II of the landscape plan was completed. It included re-landscaping of the playground and recreation area: adding sidewalks, planters, berms, water fountains, horseshoe courts, and new benches; replacing shrubs and laying new sod; filling holes and low areas; improving drainage; and installing a new sprinkler system. A volleyball court was also completed in June thanks to donations from the Women’s Club ($2,000; the proceeds from the 1987 Craft Fair) and the HOA (an additional $4,000).