City of Gonzales
CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT
STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor Rios and City Council
DATE: February 20, 2024
FROM: Carmen Gil, City Manager
THROUGH: Carmen Gil, City Manager
SUBJECT: Community Engagement & Recreation Departments Activity Report Current Activities
Kid Power
• Kid Power had 27 kids sign up in January. Once the kids returned to school, we got right back into the swing of things. The kids were busy with a lot more homework this semester but that’s ok, our team is ready to help them! We will even give some kids one-on-one time if they need it. • For one of our fun Fridays, the kids made ice cream in a bag. Yes, we know it’s cold, but they had a blast. We also got creative and made several handmade games with the kids some of which included: table tennis made with paper plates, a box with a tape trap (kind of like operation) and we made soft snowballs, so the kids were able to have an indoor snowball fight (dodgeball). • At Kid Power we have been working hard on having the kids help us plan fun Fridays. They seem to be enjoying planning with us. We also made lots of winter crafts including a polar bear, and a AGENDA
ITEM
8 penguin. In addition to the crafts, we took the time to explain to the kids what hibernation means and the importance of it in wildlife.
City Sports League
• City of Gonzales youth Basketball League started this month. Skills assessment took place on January 11th and 12th. We have 161 registered participants. This season we were able to create 17 teams ranging from division PreK/TK up to 8th grade. Our PreK to 5th grade divisions are co-ed and our 6th- 8
th grade is all boys. We were not ablet to get enough participants this season to create an all-girls team for 6th- 8
th
girls. We have 16 head coaches and 6 assistant coaches. We have a couple coaches who are coaching multiple teams. We also have 5 high school students as referees. Each ref has basketball and referee experience. All have, or still play basketball for high school. The games started on Saturday January 20th and are scheduled until February 24th. Our 6th - 8
th
boys will continue to March 9th.
• City of Gonzales Mini T ball registration has begun. The league is for ages 2½ - 4. The league is set to begin in April and will run for 6 weeks.
• South County Girls softball league registration has also begun. The league will have 3 divisions.
The divisions will include U8 ages 5-7, 10U ages 8-10, and 14U ages 11-14. We are hoping to have at least one team per division this season. Our season runs from mid-March to May.
Gonzales Youth Council
• The Gonzales Youth Council held their regularly scheduled meeting on January 22nd. Some of their discussion items included their upcoming action project which includes Drug Prevention and Housing/Tenant Rights. Both project teams have been meeting outside of their scheduled meetings to make progress. The drug Prevention team is hoping to put their ideas to action in February while the Housing/Tenant Rights team is hoping to kickstart their project in March. • In addition to the action projects, the Gonzales Youth Council has been meeting with the Youth Council from Soledad and Greenfield in hopes of hosting a Youth Summit. The students met for the first time in December and have two upcoming meetings in February. One of their main priorities is finding a space to host the summit and putting together a schedule of events for the day.
Recreation/ Community Engagement
• The Recreation Department and Public Works Supervisor have been meeting local organizations and non-profits to build a timeline towards creating a Community Garden. Some of our partners thus far include: The Blue Zonez Project, Save the Whales, Wings of Knowledge, and the Resource Conservation District of Monterey County. As of now, we are expected to have 3 garden beds delivered in the next couple of weeks and our overall goal is that we can host a Community Garden Day in the spring. The garden will be in the empty lot next to the Gonzales Community Pool. We hope this space can be used to bring the community together and to allow residents to cultivate plants that they may not have the space to grow in their own homes. • On January 26th, we welcomed Eliza Rodriguez, a CSUMB student that will be interning for the Recreation/ Community Engagement Department for the next 3 semesters as part of her Collaborative Health and Human Service Major requirements.
Activities in the Planning Phase
• Currently, the City of Gonzales is preparing to kick off Chair Yoga on Saturday February 3rd at the Vosti Center, a collaboration between the city and the Blue Zonez Project. The city has also been working with the County Health Department and Alliance on Aging to bring in more activities and programs geared towards our senior population. Right now, some of the potential programming includes waltz dancing, art, and cooking classes. • Our Gonzales Youth Council will be hosting their Drug Prevention week at Gonzales High School beginning on Tuesday February 20th - February 23rd. Some of the organizations that they will be working with include: the Gonzales Fire Department, The Epicenter, Friday Night Live, and Sun Street Center.
• The Recreation Department is also working on the logistics of our Car Show. It is scheduled to take place on April 20th. We will have more details about it in the upcoming weeks.