City of Gonzales
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT & STRATEGIC
PARTNERSHIPS
STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor Rios and City Council
DATE: April 17, 2023
FROM: Carmen Gil, Community Engagement & Strat. Partnerships Dir.
THROUGH: Trevin W. Barber, City Manager
SUBJECT: Community Engagement and Strategic Partnerships Report Gonzales Youth Council
1. In March the Gonzales Youth Council continued to meet biweekly. They met with one of the Design/Build firms working on the Community Center / Teen Innovation Center. They provided insight and feedback and will meet with another firm in the upcoming weeks.
2. The GYC had their meeting with the GHS Superintendent and the principal. The meeting went great and since then they have had 2 other meetings to address issues, concerns, and derive potential solutions.
3. They are also going to be supporting the Safe Routes to Schools work happening around the school sites and are going to be helping the Interact Club with a clean-up day in April.
COVID-19 and Community Engagement
1. The need for COVID-19 testing has continually decreased. The CHWs are now supporting other areas of work including the Local Assistance Center that has been established to deal with the floods in Pajaro and the food distributions supported by the Food Bank and Brighter Bites.
AGENDA
ITEM
8 2. The CHWs along with other city departments supported the Blue Zones’ screening of El Susto, which was held at the Fairview Cafeteria. Over 40 individuals attended the showing and were able to access additional resources and information that was made available during the event.
3. The CHWs are now busy preparing for the Healthy Eating workshops they are going to be putting on starting in April. They are going to be working on building their capacity by hosting closed workshops and once they are ready to go live with them they will be opened up to the broader audience. Trainings will be advertised to the public in mid-April.
Gonzales in the News
1. Gonzales was just selected as one of the top 20 finalists for the All-American City Award. Ten communities from across the nation will be selected as awardees in June. To compete, the city will have to put together a presentation that not only speaks to the engagement of youth in civic opportunities, but also the equitable engagement of the broader community into city practices and programs. Staff will be putting together a program for the competition in which it will highlight special aspects of Gonzales.