City of Gonzales
CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT
STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor Rios and City Council
DATE: January 20, 2026
FROM: Carmen Gil, City Manager
THROUGH: Carmen Gil, City Manager
SUBJECT: Community Engagement & Recreation Departments Activity Report Current Events
Kid Power
• In November, students focused on homework and preparing for the holiday break, including participating in parent-teacher conferences and managing half-day schedules. On rainy days, staff provided engaging indoor activities, supported students in improving reading skills, and reinforced learning through flashcards.
• During the three-day Fall Camp over Thanksgiving week, 19 children enjoyed a mix of indoor and outdoor activities, games, and arts and crafts, making for a fun and creative week. • In December, the After School Program ran for two short weeks before the holiday break.
Children enjoyed hunting for the Elf on the Shelf, with Public Works occasionally hiding the elf to make the activity even more exciting. Homework support continued, and the program concluded with a festive pajama party.
• Winter Camp was held from the end of December through early January and had a total of 18 students registered; some of the featured activities included arts and crafts, indoor games, and AGENDA
ITEM
8 outdoor chalk art. Students particularly enjoyed using 3-D pens to explore their creativity. On the second-to-last day of Winter Camp, Salinas Valley Recycling visited, and children participated in games and activities that taught them about recycling, sorting, and identifying what belongs in trash and recycling bins.
City Sports League
• The competition level this season was very competitive across all divisions. Our “B” division league had their championship game on December 16th. The teams that advanced to the Championship were Team Savages and Team Half Pint Servers. Half Pint Servers took the win in the Second set. Each set was a close game. Our “C” division league championship was on December 17th. The two teams that advanced to the Championship were Team Scat Pack and Team Just for Fun. The game went to an exciting 3rd set with team Just for fun taking the win 15- 13 in the end. Oue “A” division league championship was on December 18th. The two teams to advance to the championship were Team Jasmine and Team Grave Diggers. This was a close game for each set. This game also went to an exciting 3rd set. Team Grave Diggers were down in the 3rd set trailing Team Jasmin 6-8. But Team Grave Diggers pulled together and came back to take the win 15-13. It was an exciting season for everyone. • Our adult volleyball league season was a successful one. We had a total of 14 teams this season.
One team came all the way from Seaside to join our league. Our season ended with championship games the week of December 15th.
• Our Youth Basketball league registration is slowly growing. We have a total of 86 registered participants so far. We have 17 in our PreK-Tk boys and girls division, 24 in our all-girls’ division and 45 in our all-boys division. Our girls’ division has 3 divisions 7U, 10U and 13U. Our boy’s division has 4 divisions grades Kinder-1st, 2nd-3rd, 4th-5th and grades 6th-8th. We currently have 9 volunteer coaches so far. Skills assessments will be starting the week of January 12th. I’m anticipating numbers to raise before assessments begin. • Our South County Girls Softball league registration is slowly moving. We have 4 players, and two coaches that have registered so far. Our season will start in March. Numbers will pick up as we get closer.
• Our Mini T-ball registration began on December 1st. No registrations have come in yet. League will start on April 11th, so we have some time. Season is set to end on May 16th. Games will be on Saturday mornings
Recreation/ Community Engagement
• During the months of November and December, the Recreation Department continued to offer a variety of senior-focused classes, including Chair Yoga, Senior Circuit, Art, Wreath Making, and Cooking. All classes, apart from Senior Circuit, are provided through our partnership with Alliance on Aging. Senior programming is scheduled to continue through June 2026, at which time the current class offerings will be reassessed as the fiscal year ends. The Senior Circuit class will conclude in December 2025, as it was developed and facilitated by Service-Learning student Ivan Caballero, who will be graduating from CSUMB in December. • On Friday, November 7th, the Recreation Department hosted its second annual Hometown Heroes Ceremony at Central Park. This year, 12 new registrations were received to honor local veterans, bringing the total number of displays at Central Park to 36. The department anticipates continued growth in participation in the coming years. We extend our sincere appreciation to American Legion Post 81 and the American Legion Auxiliary Unit 81 for their generous contribution of $20 toward the cost of each commemorative sign.
• On Saturday December 6th, we hosted our annual Holiday Lights event on 4th Street from 4:30PM-7:30PM. The event was kicked off by our wonderful GHS band and featured a variety of carnival games, 5 vendors, raffle prizes and an opportunity to meet Santa! In addition, local partner Leaders 4 Earth participated by hosting a table and distributed prizes to children. Overall, the event was a success, with more than 150 “Letters to Santa” from our youth. • On Monday, December 15th, the Recreation Department held its annual Yard Decorating Contest! A total of 8 participants registered for the competition and a first, second and third place award was presented that evening. The first-place winner showcased a theme titled “Villegas in the North Pole,” followed by second place with “Gingerbread House,” and third place with “Winter Heaven.” The Recreation Department extends its sincere appreciation to all participants for their creativity and for bringing festive holiday spirit to our community. • On Wednesday, December 17 I met with our partners at the Resource Conservation of Monterey County and Live Well Project (a continuation of the Blue Zones initiative), we discussed developing a timeline and plan for establishing a Community Garden Committee, including its structure and scope. The Live Well Project plans to host some community walks that will pass through the garden to gain more foot traffic in that area. The Live Well Project also plans to host community walks that will pass through the garden to increase foot traffic and community engagement in the area. Additionally, a meeting is scheduled with partners at Save the Whales in January to discuss hosting Community Garden clean-up and gardening days throughout 2026.
Gonzales Youth Council
• On Saturday, November 8th, the Gonzales Youth Council met in the Chambers to host a brainstorming session about their Food Pantry Community Action Project. Some of the key takeaways from the meeting included finalizing a timeline for their project, building a list of potential key partners they should reach out to and landing on a date for their event, which will be held on Saturday, March 28 at the Community Garden.
Activities in the Planning Phase
As we end 2025, we look forward to opening the doors to the new Dennis and Janice Caprara Community Center and continuing our established partnerships as well as welcoming new ones to our community! We will host a grand opening Ceremony on Saturday, January 10th from 10:00AM-11:30AM.