We kicked off the month of July with the annual Fourth of July Celebration, which included the 5k Run, the Fourth of July parade, and the Park Celebration hosted by the Gonzales Rotary. Thank you to everyone that helped put on the day’s events and to all of those who participated. We hope you enjoyed the day! To the family that was affected by that terrible fire, our condolences to you for your devastating loss.
We want to remind everyone that illegal fireworks are ILLEGAL and anyone caught with them will be cited and prosecuted. Citations can carry hefty fines and charges. Please help us keep Gonzales safe by avoiding their use.
• In effort to keep Gonzales safe, we have secured a small grant that will help with the purchase of a drone. We expect to add it to our toolbox in the next few months.
HOUSING
• Our pre-approved set of Accessary Dwelling Plans (ADUs) are going through the final review process and soon will be made available to the public. These will make it easier for those wanting to build ADUs, which will assist our production of local housing. • City staff is busy working away on the Cycle 6 Housing Element and the Council and Planning Commission will be receiving a presentation on the draft document at the meeting of August 21st starting at 5:00pm. This document, once final, will be submitted to the State for approval and will guide our housing production and will assist us in securing funds designated to support housing.
Gonzales Community Center Complex
• A lot is taking place behind the scenes as we continue to move the work forward for our Gonzales Community Center. Staff has been busy working away on the preparation of a handful of documents required by the USDA to secure a loan needed for a portion of the project. Once funding is secure, the design and permit phase is planned to take place from September of this year through April of 2024, with construction starting in May of 2024 and going through November of 2025.
The Grand Opening celebration is set to take place in December of 2025.
City of Gonzales
City Manager Report
July 2023
June 2023
• On the design and planning of the project, we are meeting with user groups to provide final input into the design, and we continue to work towards securing more private and public funding for the full project.
Economic Development
• The Rianda Cooler project is on track. Both the City Council and the Board of Supervisors, have approved the Tax Sharing Agreement, the final document for our LAFCO application. The next step is for the LAFCO Board to approve our annexation and give the green light to the project. We hope that will happen in the next month or so.
• City staff has also notified the businesses on Fourth Street that the parklets that were put up during COVID, are now to come down completely. To date, no one has expressed a desire to keep theirs up; therefore, Public Works will be taking all of them down.
Community Engagement
• On July 27th, the City Manager joined a panel presentation for the All-American City Promising Practices Webinar Series: Youth Councils, Harnessing the Power of Engaged Youth. She highlighted and shared the Gonzales Youth Council’s (GYC) story, the structure, and their work on the mental health action project with 60+ people from across the nation.
• The GYC was also highlighted in an article published by the League of California Cities in their Western City Magazine. The GYC was highlighted as part of the recognition they received last year when we were awarded the Helen Putnam Award for Excellence by the League. • In July, the GYC was busy going through their Summer Fellowship and is gearing up to start recruiting their 2023-2024 Council. If you know anyone that is interested in joining the GYC this school year, please visit their social media sites for more information at
www.facebook.com/GonzalesYouthCouncil/ or
GonzalesYouthCouncil on Instagram.
• Staff worked to process the permits necessary to get Circus Royal to come back to town. They were in town August 3rd to the 6th. We hope you got a chance to enjoy it!
• Also, there have been some changes to the local MST schedule and we want to ensure everyone has the latest information. See the flyer for the latest changes.
• Finally, our Kid Power and soccer programs are starting back up. If you are interested in enrolling your child in any of them visit teamsideline.com/gonzales.