City of Gonzales
CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT
STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor Rios and City Council
DATE: July 21, 2025
FROM: Carmen Gil, City Manager
THROUGH: Carmen Gil, City Manager
SUBJECT: Community Engagement & Recreation Departments Activity Report Current Events
Summer Camp
• Prior to kicking off Summer Camp, we had two days of cleaning and staff training and then got the rest of the week off for some much-needed rest before heading into the summer. • The first week of summer camp took place June 16th - June 20th and we were excited to see lots of new faces. Every week of Summer Camp focuses on a different theme/topic and the theme for our first week focused on STEAM so the children had the opportunity to build their own remotecontrolled cars from scratch and take them home. The car kits were purchased through the Nancy Buck Ransom Foundation Grant that we received.
• Summer Camp always works to integrate immersions with different City Departments as well as organizations. For the first week of camp, we received a visit from the Fire Department and the children got to ask lots of questions including how to become a firefighter. The children also had AGENDA
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9 the opportunity to learn about the Jaws of Life and other tools they use every day to save lives.
Lastly, the children were able to play a few games with the firefighters, including aiming to spray a little house with a fire hose.
• Week 2 of summer camp took place on June 23rd - June 25th and this week the children were able to receive a visit from the Police Department which included Officer Perez, Officer Correa and Community Service Officer Jasmin Garcia. They got to meet Officer Correa and ask him how he became an Officer after being a Community Service Officer. They also took the kids outside to go over traffic safety rules, including how to safely cross the crosswalk.
City Sports League
• Our Softball Rec Girls 14U division had their last game on June 9th, a scrimmage against some of the softball players from high school. It was a fun and exciting experience. Our rec girls did very well against the JV players that they played against. An official score was not kept, but our rec girls did score more runs than their opponents. It was a fun evening. The girls’ softball rec game kicked off the season for our adult co-ed softball league. • Adult co-ed softball started on June 9th. We have a full schedule this season with a total of 14 teams. The games are Monday through Thursday evenings.
• Youth soccer registration has started. Registration started on June 27th. Registration will continue until the end of Aug. Skills assessments are scheduled for August 26th and 28th. The seasonal games will begin in the second week of September. We have about 10 registered participants so far. Our league is co-ed and is from ages 2 ½ to 13. We will have 5 divisions. • Our youth flag football season started on June 18th with our first games for age division 5-7 and on June 20th for ages 8-14. Our youngest age division, ages 5-7, has a total of 30 participants and 3 teams. Our age division ages 8-10 has a total of 16 participants and two teams. Our oldest age division, ages 11-14, has 22 participants and two teams. This season’s collaboration with Greenfield has been going well. It is always nice to compete against other cities. Competing against other cities brings a sense of teamwork when our own players do not have to play against each other. Our season’s last games will be on the 23rd and 25th. • This year we had an end of season pool party for our girl’s rec softball league 8U and 10U divisions. Parents came together and pitched in to pay for a pool party. We all had a wonderful time, and it was such a beautiful day. The kids enjoyed their time in the pool as well as some of the adults. Something we will do every year. We had over 50 guests for the party.
Recreation/ Community Engagement
• In the month of June, we concluded our Healthy Aging Classes that were supported through the grant the Monterey County Health Department received. Senior classes will continue in the month of July; however, they will now be in partnership with Alliance on Aging. The class schedule will stay the same with Chair Yoga taking place 4-5 times a month, and cooking and art taking place once a month.
• In June, we were also able to submit the final registrations for the Engraved Pavers that were purchased for the Community Center. In total we received a total of 122 registration with sizes varying from 4x8, 8x8, or 12x12.
• The Boys and Girls Club invited us to participate in a tour of their Clubhouse on June 26th in Salinas. We met with the Director of Growth Initiatives and the Director of Curriculum who went over all the programing that is provided year-round and the partnerships they have with different school districts. All their programming ties back to their 4 pillars which include: Academic Success, Healthy Lifestyle, Good Character and Leadership & Workforce Readiness.
Aquatics
• The Community Pool opened on Tuesday, June 10th with Swim Lessons beginning on Tuesday, June 17 and running multiple sessions through the end of July. Our 2nd Session for weekday swim lessons had a total of 59 enrollees with 19 being enrolled in the morning session and 40 being enrolled in the afternoon session. Our 2nd session for Saturday swim had a total of 5 children enrolled in the parent/child class and 14 for the regular swim lesson session. • Rec Swim takes place Tuesday- Friday from 2PM-4:30PM and 7PM-9:30PM and on Saturdays from 1PM-3PM.
• In the month of June, we had a total of 6 Pool Parties bringing in a total of $2,155 in revenue for Pool Party Reservations. We continue to accept reservations, and information can be found on our Teamsideline.com/ Gonzales website.
Activities in the Planning Phase
• The Community Pool will be hosting a Movie Night on Friday, July 25th with a special showing of the classic The Sandlot. Tickets can be purchased at the Pool or at City Hall. • The Gonzales Youth Council will be participating in their Summer Training beginning on July 23- August 1st. The students will have the opportunity to sit down and meet with department heads and participate in immersions to better understand their day-to-day scope of work. • The City of Gonzales has registered to host a team for the Relay for Life, a global movement that brings families together to celebrate cancer survivors and remember loved ones lost. All employees and community members are welcome to register under the City of Gonzales. The event will take place on Saturday, September 20th, and all proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society.