City of Gonzales
CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT
STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor Rios and City Council
DATE: November 20, 2023
FROM: Carmen Gil, City Manager
THROUGH: Carmen Gil, City Manager
SUBJECT: Community Engagement & Recreation Departments Activity Report Current Activities
Recreation
• On Saturday, October 21st, the Recreation Department hosted the Annual Halloween Movie Night at the Centennial Park Field. We want to thank the Fire Department for helping set-up and the Gonzales Little League for coming out and setting up a concession stand for people to purchase snacks and food! This year, we decided to have the movie be a walk-in movie and we had a great turn out with at least 50 people in attendance. Our hope is to continue doing more movie nights for the community to come together.
• On Saturday, October 28th, the Recreation Department hosted the First Annual Fall Festival. Some of the activities included: Trunk or Treat, a free pumpkin patch for kids, face painting, costume contest, and there were also food and non-food vendors. This was the first time that non-food vendors were included in a City event, and we received a lot of positive feedback. We hope they continue to partner with us for our upcoming events.
AGENDA
ITEM
9 City Sports Leagues
• The Gonzales Youth Soccer League was a major success this year. We ended our season on October 20th and 21st. All teams were matched. The games were very close and so much fun to watch. The last games were filled with excitement. Each player received a participation certificate as well as a medal. We also had special certificates for Most Improved player, Best Defense, Best Offense, etc. and our special award for Sportsmanship. During the last game, we had a visitor from two sharks, for the two teams whose team names were SHARKS and BLUE SHARKS. After the game, the parents from each team built a bridge for the kids to go under to clap hands. It was an awesome sight to see.
• The Recreation Department was invited to attend an Alliance on Aging meeting on October 19th.
Alliance on Aging recently received a grant to assist with their senior programing. The City of Gonzales has been invited to participate in the Provider and Resources Committee. This sounds like a positive interesting role for our team as we work towards bringing in more senior activities to our community.
• Our adult co-ed volleyball team registration went well. Team registration ended on October 23rd.
We have 3 division levels. “A” bracket which is our highest most experience level, “B” which is our intermediate level and “C” which is our beginner level. We had a total of 12 teams registered this year. Four teams in each division. The captains’ meeting was held on October 30th. • Youth basketball registration is slowly getting there. This month we had 55 participants registered.
Our registration ends December 15th.
Kid Power
• October was busy for the Kid Power After School Program. We had a total of 40 kids enrolled and this month was filled with plenty of fall themed projects. As always, our commitment to students is also to continue to prioritize and help with any homework and assignments they may have. • One of the projects the students focused on was our annual October Door Competition which was very fun! Thank you to those who stopped by to vote or voted via our social media post. The results were as follows: First Place: Beetlejuice, Second Place: Hocus Pocus, Third Place: Coraline, and Fourth Place: Monsters, Inc. The kids got pizza and ice cream in celebration of their hard work on their doors.
• The other project that the students helped put together was regarding Day of the Dead. The students learned about what the day symbolizes and were able to put together their own altars with pictures of their loved ones who have passed.
Gonzales Youth Council
• On October 7th, two of our Youth Council: Vianney Martinez-Valdez and Valeria CardenasPacheco attended a Mental Health Summit at CSUMB in collaboration with Dr. Jennifer Lovell and her assistant Rosa Acevedo Duran. The group hosted a workshop that focused on how to use Data and Advocacy to Improve Youth Mental Health.
• On October 10th, the GYC met with Otto Construction and WRNS Studio to discuss updates regarding the layout of the Community Center and the Teen Innovation Center. The students were also able to view different samples of the walls, carpet, and flooring which allowed them to provide input on what they envision for the space.
• On October 12th, the Youth Council met with Superintendent Dr. Zamora where she talked to the Youth Council about her background in education as well as all as the upcoming projects, which included the partnership with Hartnell to bring College Level Courses to Gonzales High School Students.
Activities in the Planning Phase
The Recreation Department is currently planning for our Holiday Lights Event on Saturday December 2nd from 4:00pm - 7:00pm, and our Christmas Parade on December 9th. We are actively accepting registrations for vendors and for our Christmas Tree Decorating Contest.