City of Gonzales
CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT
STAFF REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor Rios and City Council
DATE: February 17, 2026
FROM: Carmen Gil, City Manager
THROUGH: Carmen Gil, City Manager
SUBJECT: Community Engamement & Recreation Departments Activity Report Current Activities
Kid Power
• We began January by wrapping up the final week of Winter Camp, welcoming 21 campers for a fun and engaging week. The children especially enjoyed continuing to use the 3D pens, which remain a favorite activity. Salinas Valley Recycling also joined us to lead interactive recycling games and reinforce the importance of proper recycling practices. To celebrate their participation, campers were able to choose prizes from our used book collection, which they were thrilled about.
• In January, the Kid Power After School program served 24 students. After a three-week break, students needed time to readjust to homework and reading routines. While we noticed that some students needed refreshers on skills from before the break, staff worked closely with them to provide support and help everyone get back on track. We are now focusing on strengthening AGENDA
ITEM
9 academic readiness for the coming months through sight word practice and math flashcards. For students who continue to need additional support, we collaborate with parents and teachers to identify areas where we can best assist.
City Sports League
• Our Youth Basketball League Skills assessments took place on January 14th and 15th. Our numbers almost doubled from December. We gained an additional seventy-four participants. We have a total of 160 registered participants. Our girls league has fifty participants. Our youngest all female’s division, 7U girls has one team of ten and our 10U division has two teams, one of twelve and the other thirteen participants. Our 13U girls have one team of fifteen participants. Our PreKTK division has a total of thirty-four participants and four teams. Our all-boys league has a total of seventy-six participants amongst its four divisions. Our numbers grew in our PreK-TK and our girls division this year by 50%. Unfortunately, they also dropped in our all-boys division by 20%. • We started our first games on January 31st. This season we collaborated with Soledad in adding a few more of our divisions to compete in their league. We added our Kinder-first and our 4th-5th grade teams to their travel league. The players and parents are enjoying the new experience. Our league will continue until mid-March.
• Our South County Girls Softball League registration is still going. We have twenty-two registered participants and five coaches that have registered so far. Our season will start in March. • Our Mini T-ball registration is slowing moving. We have eight registered participants. League does not start until April. Our numbers will pick up my March.
Recreation/ Community Engagement
• We met with TMD Creative to begin the planning process for the development of a new City website; this includes identifying overall goals and working with each City department to review which existing content should be carried over, as well as gathering input on desired features for the new site. We hope to create a user-friendly website that provides clear access to accurate, upto-date information for the community. We are excited to move forward and look forward to the final launch!
• The Community Center officially opened on Saturday, January 26, and we had a great turnout! Currently operating with one available room while construction continues in other areas. The Boys & Girls Club utilizes the center on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. During the first week, staff promoted the opening by distributing flyers to students after school, which resulted in 18 teens attending over those three days. Teens were welcomed with snacks and provided time for homework support.
• The City operates programming at the center on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Outreach efforts included sharing flyers with Fairview to distribute through Parent Square, as well as Youth Council members encouraging peers to attend. During the City’s three operating days, a total of 11 teens participated.
• One ongoing challenge is that some teens are unsure whether the center is open due to the continued construction of the teen lounge and library. We will continue outreach efforts to clarify availability and encourage participation as construction progresses • Our partners at the Greenfield Science Workshop and TAMC hosted a bike repair workshop on Friday, January 30 from 3-6PM at the new Dennis and Janice Caprara Community Center. The event was a hit, and we were very excited to see community members of all ages take advantage of this workshop and walk away with free bikes! Thank you to our partners that have been able to provide this service to our community for the past few years.
Gonzales Youth Council
• For the month of January, the GYC held one regular meeting as they transitioned back from winter break. During the meeting, they were able to meet with Public Works Supervisor, Martin Diaz, and discuss the possibility of revamping the Food Pantry that was previously stationed at Central Park.
• The Gonzales Youth Council, in collaboration with the Cities of Soledad and Greenfield Youth Councils, has begun the planning process for the 3rd Annual South County Youth Summit. The event is scheduled for Saturday, May 2, and will be hosted this year in Gonzales at the Dennis and Janice Caprara Community Center.
Based on student interest, several workshops have already been confirmed, including Budget Management, Pedestrian Safety, and Cooking Healthy Meals. Youth participants have also scheduled their planning meetings leading up to the event and will transition into committee work at their next convening to support a more efficient and organized planning process.
• Another exciting step the students have taken is opening an application for GHS students interested in contributing to their action projects by designing artwork for the Community Pantry. Two students submitted applications, and both will be moving forward to participate in creating the mural that will be displayed at the pantry.
Activities in the Planning Phase
Wings of Knowledge will begin programming in February on a weekly basis and will be providing interactive, hands-on STEAM activities for Fairview Middle School students.