City of Gonzales
CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT
STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor Rios and City Council
DATE: June 17, 2024
FROM: Carmen Gil, City Manager
THROUGH: Carmen Gil, City Manager
SUBJECT: Community Engagement & Recreation Departments Activity Report Current Activities
Kid Power
• Kid Power was busy during the last month of the afterschool program as we approached the end of the school year and got ready for summer. We helped the kids wrap up their last homework packets. Nevertheless, we still made some time for fun activities such as arts and crafts and water balloon fights.
• For the first time, we also made each child a Kid Power Memory Book (yearbook) which was very fun to make and filled with memories from this school year. The kids enjoyed getting to take a small keepsake home with them!
• In preparation for Summer Camp, we closed out the interview process earlier in the month and in total we will be moving forward with 14 staff for this summer. Of all our employees, 9 were AGENDA
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9 already employed with us during the Kid Power After School program. This is great to see because that ensures we will have a strong team for our Summer Camp. • Currently, Summer Camp has gone live on Teamsideline and we are now accepting registrations for kids up to 8th grade.
• This year we are taking full advantage of all our local organizations and inviting them to present to our Summer Camp Kids. Some of the organizations include Gonzales Fire, PD, Public Works, Save the Whales, Salinas Valley Recycle and Sun Street Center. The organizations will each have their own day in which they will get to come out and talk to the kids about what their organization does, while also integrating fun activities for them to participate in.
City Sports League
• We had a special event on May 6th for our 10U softball teams. Our two 10U teams were playing each other and our very own Gonzales High School Varsity Girls Softball team came out to the game and helped warm up the teams. It was a lot of fun watching the varsity team work with the future softball players of Gonzales High. I am sure there was a moment there where the varsity girls looked back and remembered when they were that age playing the sport they love. • Gonzales Mini T-Ball season has ended. The season ended on May 11th. It was another successful season. We had great coaches and enthusiastic players. At the last game medals and certificates were passed out. The kiddos were so excited to wear their mini t-ball medals around their necks.
• The South County Girls Softball league season officially ended on May 20th, with our closing ceremony. Medals and certificates were distributed. After the ceremony was over, we all shared a potluck meal together and played a short game of softball. The game was parents vs. players. It was a blast. We all had a wonderful time.
• Adult co-ed softball registration is coming along slowly this month. We were able to get 9 teams to register during May. We will have two brackets this season. We will have a higher and lower bracket level. Games are scheduled to play June 10th. With a Coaches meeting on June 4th. • Gonzales Youth flag football registration is going well. We have 56 participants registered so far as of May. We are looking to have at least 10 teams in total. • Summer Tiny Tots Sports program is coming along well. We had 14 little ones registered so far in May. We are looking looking forward to seeing how this program goes.
Gonzales Youth Council
• The Gonzales Youth Council, in collaboration with the Soledad and Greenfield Youth Councils, hosted the first South County Youth Summit in Soledad on Saturday, May 11th . The event entailed an opening speech by former GYC Alum, Fabiola Moreno Ruelas, followed by a day of workshop centered around College and Career Readiness, Mental Health, and Environmentalism.
They also hosted a resource fair where they invited many local organizations, some of which included: Cal State Monterey Bay, Girls Health in Girls Hands, Salinas Valley Recycles and many more! They wrapped up their day by having table talks in which students got to go around providing their input regarding different topics and changes they would like to see in their communities. Overall, the event was a success, and we look forward to having it take place again next year!
• Before wrapping up their year, the Gonzales Youth Council also executed 2 of their projects: one being the tenant rights survey and the second being the Parents Mental Health Survey. They will be presenting their findings during the June 17 Council Meeting.
Recreation/ Community Engagement
• For the month of May, we were able to collaborate with Alliance on Aging, the Monterey County Health Department, Gonzales Adult School and the Blue Zones Project to bring 2 senior classes to Gonzales! The first was a cooking class that was held on Friday May 10th at the Taylor Farms Family Health and Wellness Center and the second was an art class that was held at the Gonzales Adult School on Thursday May 16. Since this is still new to our town, the attendance rate has been, however, through the conversations we were able to have with those attendees, we were able to get feedback about ways to increase the number of participations. • We were able to secure reoccurring dates for senior art, cooking, and ballroom dancing classes to take place in Gonzales. We plan to attend the next Senior SoCo to help advertise for all the classes.
Aquatics
• We went live with our online Aquatics registrations which included: Summer Pool Parties, Summer Pool passes, and our free Junior Lifeguard Class. Pool parties were fully booked for the opening weekend the first day they went live on Teamsideline! • This year, we decided to do the swim class registrations a little differently by having them available in-person at the Community Pool. We have already been having many residents calling to inquire about dates and pricing.
Activities in the Planning Phase
The Aquatics staff is working on finalizing a schedule for movies at the pool this summer! We hope we can host at least 3-4 throughout the next couple of months.