Council approves seeking grant to install Fitness Court

Gonzales City Council authorized City Manager Tim Crow to apply for a grant from the National Fitness Campaign to install an active outdoor fitness course on the southeastern corner of the City Hall property near the intersection of Saint Andrew and Saint Paul streets.

Any matching funds needed by the city would be requested from the Gonzales Economic Development Corporation (GEDC), Crow said.

“Early in the mornings and the evenings and even all throughout the day, people utilize benches for stretching and I’ve seen people doing exercises there,” Crow said. “It's an ideal location, situated right along this walking trail. It's easily accessible for the community. It's basically centralized. It gets people outside moving and I think this would be a great addition and promotes health and fitness.

“We've actually been awarded the grant. We're not obligated at this point until we actually issue a PO if approved by the council. There is an opportunity for an additional $10,000 of grant money available to us if we meet some benchmarks prior to the end of the year that I believe we could make. The balance of the matching funds — I want to do a request to the Economic Development Corporation for funding from their quality of life line item.”

The total cost of the court is $205,000 and the city would be responsible for $145,000 after the $60,000 grant. Money from the GEDC is raised through the city’s half-cent sales tax approved for economic development and not through property taxes.

National Fitness Campaign was founded in 1979 by Mitch Menaged to introduce the Fitness Court outdoor gymnasium system to municipalities and schools with goal by 2030 to fund 5,000 free outdoor Fitness Courts within a 10-minute bike ride of every American.

One side of the court has seven zones to rotate through in a circuit using equipment that is in place: Core, Squat, Push, Lunge, Pull, Agility and Bend. The other side is set up as a studio for Zumba, yoga, Pilates, dance and other classes.

District 3 Councilmember Lorenzo Hernandez questioned using that particular location for a Fitness Court when he said there are other things that are needed in the area.

“My comment would be, you know, for a couple years, since our businesses are starting to move this way, we need parking and we're going to put something else there,” Hernandez said. “I'm not against this project, but we have another green space on the north side of the building over here. Why don’t we just utilize that.

“We’ve got a new business across the street here, and they're parking all in the street trying to find a place to park. The town is trying to grow this way somewhat. We just don't have any place for people to park.”

Crow said there is another area on the north side that would be better used for parking and “would actually give you more parking than you would have where the Fitness Court would be sitting.”

Crow said he has spoken to Cuero about their Fitness Court and “it’s used. It’s a good addition.”

“It's actually in their park system, but their park system isn't like our park system,” Crow said. “It's more accessible to the neighborhoods. Our park system, you’ve got to go across the highway. The idea is to get this thing situated in a spot where our community can basically walk because they want to do it anyway.”

Mayor Isaac Anzaldua,District 2 Councilmember Mariah Jordan and District 4 Councilmember Harold Strom voted in favor of applying for the grant, while District 1 Councilmember Joseph “Poochy” Kridler and Hernandez voted against it.