City of Gonzales
CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT
STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor Rios and City Council
DATE: November 17, 2025
FROM: Carmen Gil, City Manager
THROUGH: Carmen Gil, City Manager
SUBJECT: Community Engagment & Recreation Departments Activity Report Current Events
Kid Power
• Kid Power had a busy and fun-filled October with 28 kids joining us throughout the month! The children enjoyed a variety of Halloween-themed crafts and created colorful chalk art outside. On Halloween, we celebrated with a nacho party, explored the garden, and ended the day with some karaoke.
• La Gloria has upcoming testing, so we’ve been coordinating with the teachers to provide additional support for the students. In addition to our daily homework assistance and reading activities, we’ve been working closely with the teachers to help the kids prepare and feel confident for their tests.
• Mrs. Julie’s friend, Mrs. Ande, brought pumpkins for all the kids, creating their very own mini pumpkin patch! She also brought a baby goat named Chicken Nugget, which the children absolutely loved. The kids even made adorable thank-you cards for Mrs. Ande and Chicken Nugget to show their appreciation for the visit.
AGENDA
ITEM
9 City Sports League
• Our Adult Volleyball league registrations started off slow, then picked up. We have 14 teams registered this season. Six of those teams are in our highest division which is our “A” division.
Our “B” division only has three teams, and Our “C” division has 5 teams. We increased our number of teams this year by two from last season. Our team registrations ended on October 22nd.
Our captains meeting to go over the rules and answer questions is scheduled for October 28th.
Player registration will continue until November 7th. First games of the season are scheduled to start on November 3rd.
• Our Youth Basketball league registration is moving along. We have 25 registered participants so far. Six in our PreK-TK division; 8 in our girls division; and 11 in our boys division. We currently have 5 volunteer coaches. Skills assessments will be on November the 13th. This season, our PreK-TK division will play their games on Friday evenings. Our games are anticipated to start on January 31st and will go until March 14th.
• Our Youth Soccer season ended on October 11th for our age 2 ½ - 3 ½; October 18th for ages 4 - 5, 9 – 10, and some of our age 6-8 teams. October 20th was the last game for our age division 11-14.
The rest of the age 6-8 teams played their last game on the 24th. This season was a very successful one. We had our highest number of registered participants to date, with 201 participants. Each participant received their medal and certificate at the end of their last game. • Our South County Girls Softball league registration started on October 20th. We will compete against Soledad, Greenfield and King City. We have one player, and one coach registered so far.
Hoping to have at least one team in each division. The divisions we offer are 8U (ages 5-7), 10U (ages 8-10), and 14U (ages 11-14). Our season will start in March.
Recreation/ Community Engagement
• On October 7th, we successfully kicked off our Senior Circuit Class with an enthusiastic group of nearly 15 participants. The session featured a variety of exercises, including jumping jacks, squats, side steps, and walking laps around Central Park. The class is led by our CSUMB Intern, Ivan Caballero, and will continue through December 9th. • In October, staff worked to coordinate a ribbon-cutting ceremony for our newest local business, Amor De Café. The event was held on Friday, October 24th, and we are excited to welcome this wonderful addition to our community. We wish Amor De Café every success in the months and years ahead!
• We closed registrations for our Hometown Heroes Program on October 12th, and received 12 new applications, bringing the total number of signs to be displayed to 36. • On Saturday, October 25th, we hosted our annual Trunk or Treat event. Although we had to cancel the Movie Night due to the anticipated weather, the Trunk or Treat was very well received by our community. A special thank you to everyone who donated candy, to the participants who registered and decorated their vehicles, and to our staff who helped with setup. The Pumpkin Patch was once again a huge hit, and we were able to hand out all the pumpkins generously donated by Braga Farms. We look forward to hosting Trunk or Treat again next year and hope to see even more registered vehicles!
Gonzales Youth Council
• On October 7th, the Gonzales Youth Council met with the Greenfield Youth Council to share updates and exchange ideas. During the meeting, students discussed the projects they’ve been working on in their respective communities, compared how they conduct their meetings, and shared plans for their upcoming action projects.
• On October 16th, the Gonzales Youth Council met with Senator Laird. The students were excited to learn about his role and the career path that led him to public office. They also discussed some of the challenges they face due to limited resources and asked thoughtful questions about topics such as government shutdowns and their potential impact on the Gonzales community. In addition, the students shared updates on the action projects they are working on this year with the Youth Council.
• On October 23rd
, the GYC visited the Dennis & Janice Caprara Community Center. They were greeted by several employees from WRNS, Harris & Associates, and Otto Construction. The meeting kicked off with an introduction by all the employees, who shared their career pathway with the students. The students then had the opportunity to tour the space and ask questions about the most recent updates since their last visit in August.
Activities in the Planning Phase
We have begun planning for our annual Holiday Lights Event scheduled to take place on Saturday, December 6th on Fourth Street. We will be using funding we were able to raise through our 2025 Car Show to help pay for a portion of the costs.