Agenda Item # 11.4 - Erik Medina | Received 08/15/2022CAUTION: This email originated from an External Source. Please use proper judgment and caution when opening
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From:
To:City Clerk
Subject:EXTERNAL - Public comments for 8/15 council meeting
Date:Monday, August 15, 2022 11:58:44 AM
Attachments:Juristac Letter Erik.pdf
JuristacGilroyGavilanCommunityLetter.pdf
Dear city clerk,
I am writing with the hope of being able to share a public comment at tonight's (8/15)
city council meeting.
My comment is about the proposed Sargent Quarry project. I am attaching two letters
that I would like to read at the meeting-- one from me as a Gavilan instructor and
another from other concerned faculty at Gavilan.
Thank you!
Erik
Board of Trustees: Edwin Diaz Patricia Mondragón Irma González Jonathan Tessmann, Student Trustee
Rachel Perez Laura Perry, Esq. Jeanie Wallace
5055 Santa Teresa Blvd., Gilroy, CA 95020 www.gavilan.edu (408) 848-4800
Dr. Pedro Avila, Superintendent/President
August 14, 2022
Dear Gilroy City Council Members,
We the undersigned respectfully urge you to make clear your opposition to the proposed Sargent Quarry
Project. The land threatened by the quarry, known as Juristac in the Mutsun language, is of immense
cultural, historical, and spiritual importance to the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band.
As employees and students at Gavilan College who live and work in close proximity to Juristac, we find
this particular project to be of great concern.
Our college campus–like much of present-day Santa Clara County–exists within the traditional territory of
the Indigenous peoples commonly referred to by descendants and scholars as the Ohlone. The Amah -
Mutsun Tribal Band constitutes one of several contemporary Ohlone groups working to re-establish their
federally recognized status and revitalize their cultural practices and traditional languages. As
contemporary occupants of Ohlone territory, we are committed to fostering civic engagement and equity.
Thus, we support the preservation of sites–such as Juristac–that are deemed indispensable by the
historically marginalized members of the greater Bay Area.
The mine also poses concerns for environmental sustainability. The area is home to several special status
animals whose habitats may be impacted by the construction of the mine.
Additionally, the soil erosion from the quarry development has the potential to degrade the region’s water
quality as surface runoff carries sediment into natural creek and river beds, canals, and adjacent wetlands.
Furthermore, access to the proposed mine will require the regular use of Old Monterey Road and Highway
101. This is likely to foment more traffic congestion for an already over encumbered stretch of highway
that residents from all over Santa Clara County and San Benito County r ely on for their daily commute.
Safeguarding this site from the proposed sand and gravel mine will protect local wildlife and water quality
and avoid the unnecessary intensification of highway traffic thereby supporting the region’s overall
environmental sustainability. Moreover, preserving Juristac is a necessary and
significant step in addressing the historical and continuing dispossession and destruction of the Indigenous
peoples of Santa Clara County.
Thank you for your consideration,
Jessica Hooper, Gavilan College English Instructor
Kimberly Smith, Gavilan College English Instructor
Dr. Debbie Klein, Gavilan College Anthropology Instructor
Scott Sandler, Gavilan College English Instructor
2
Christina Salvin, Gavilan College English Instructor
Bea C. Lawn, Gavilan College ESL Instructor
Dr. Nicholas Barron, Gavilan College Anthropology Instructor
Erik Medina, Gavilan College Math Instructor
August 15, 2022
Dear Gilroy City Council Members,
I’m writing to express my concerns about the proposed Sargent Quarry project that would impact
the land called Juristac, which is of important cultural, religious, and historical significance to
the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band. The land is located not far from the Gavilan College campus.
The primary reason for my opposition to the construction of the gravel mine is respect for
indigenous cultures and acknowledgment of the disregard that indigenous people have
experienced historically as a result of European colonization. This is a good enough reason, in
my opinion, to oppose the project.
Environmental impacts are an additional area of concern. According to the project’s
environmental impact report, there exist several “significant and unavoidable impacts” were the
project to take place. These include diminished air quality, the interference of wildlife
movement, loss of paleontological resources, and an increase in cumulative vehicle miles driven.
Please consider the cultural and environmental implications of the proposed Sargent Quarry
project and please ask the Santa Clara County Planning Commission to deny its permit.
Thank you for reading my letter.
Erik Medina
Math instructor and GLOBAL Climate Club advisor, Gavilan College