City of Gonzales
CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT
STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor Rios and City Council
DATE: February 18, 2025
FROM: Carmen Gil, City Manager
THROUGH: Carmen Gil, City Manager
SUBJECT: Community Engagement & Recreation Departments Activity Report Current Activities
Kid Power
• For January, Winter Camp had a total of 17 kids registered. The Fire Department visited two different days during camp. During one of the visits, they brought the fire truck and had the kids do a workout activity, and during the second visit, they barbecued and played games with the kids. They also spent some time outdoors and were given time to draw beautiful sketches with chalk. The remaining amount of time was spent inside due to the weather; however, we made the best of it and played a lot of inside games and did art and crafts.
AGENDA
ITEM
10 • An intern through the Mechatronics Engineering program at CSUMB, was able to dedicate service-learning hours towards developing STEAM activities with the kids at Kid Power. With the help of the grant we received through the Nancy Bucks Ransom Foundation, we were able to purchase cars for the kids to build. The kids had so much fun. • The Kid Power After School Program resumed in January and we had a total of 29 students registered. We worked on getting them back on track doing homework. We also had more indoor activities due to the weather, but the kids still had a good time. • We ended January at the Community Garden where the kids had the opportunity to paint their own rocks and place them in the garden. The kids enjoyed learning about what they were planting and how to use shovels. They filled buckets and worked as a team.
City Sports League
• Our last week of Winter Break Youth Open Gym was January 6th- 10th. We had approximately 10 recurring participants.
• Our Gonzales Youth Basketball League is doing well. We’re expecting a high number of participants. Our all-girls division numbers look great. The 7U division has 7 girls, the 10U division has 23 girls, enough for two full teams; and the 13U division has 9 participants. The PreK division has 23 participants, Kinder-1st grade has 32 participants, 2nd- 3 rd grade has 24
participants, 4th- 5
th grade has 16 participants, and 6th
- 8
th grade has 28 participants.
• Our overall numbers for the entire league which includes PreK to 8th grade are 162. We have a total of 18 teams and 16 head coaches. Some coaches are coaches in multiples divisions. Our first games are scheduled for February 1st. The season is looking to end March 15th.
Recreation/ Community Engagement
• In partnership with Alliance on Aging and the Monterey Health Department, we will be continuing our free senior classes though the end of June 2025, which include Chair Yoga. • On Wednesday January 29th, and Thursday January 30th, the Resource Conservation of Monterey County led a Community Gardening Day focused on creating a pollinator garden with over 100 native plants. The purpose of the pollinator garden is designed to help produce pollen and plays a vital role in producing food. Tasks included digging holes, planting native plants, covering the ground with cardboard and woodchips to prevent unwanted weeds, and enhance soil quality.
Additional organizations participated in the garden including Blue Zones, Save the Whales, Student Interns from CSUMB, Gonzales High Students, and Kid Power After School Program students.
• The Monterey County Health Department has reached out to conduct memory screenings for adults in the community. They are looking to partner with the City as they are currently seeking a suitable space where they can conduct the screenings. The screenings they offer are designed to detect changes in cognitive function, rather than provide a diagnosis. The goal is to help individuals identify potential concerns early, so they can follow up with their doctor for further evaluation if necessary.
Gonzales Youth Council
The GYC participated in a Leadership Lab at the Council Chambers on Saturday, January 25th. The students spent the morning working on the next steps for their action projects and the afternoon focused on refining their leaderships skills through public speaking activities, interview mock trials, and a short resume building workshop.