Marin County Civil Grand Jury Fy 2018-2019 Final Report Summaries Inside

Recommendations 15

• R1
  Create a comprehensive, up to receive emergency alerts. for a mass evacuation in personal Education countywide vegetation manage- Programs to educate the public vehicles. Public transit is a R4. Adopt and deliver a compre- ment plan that includes vegetation for wildfire are not well known neglected piece of evacuation hensive education program fo- along evacuation routes, a cam- and are offered infrequently. preparedness. Inertia and cused on action for all residents paign to mobilize public partici- Alerts complacency have prevented a of Marin on a regular schedule pation, and low-income subsidies. The two crucial emergency proactive and nimble response to by a team of expert trainers.
• R2
  Hire at least 30 new civilian alert systems in the county, wildfire dangers. R5. Promote the creation of vegetation inspectors and at least Alert Marin and Nixle, as opt-in The Grand Jury proposes Firewise Communities in every eight fire/fuels crews focused on systems, warn only those who neighborhood by all local juris- the creation of a joint powers fuel reduction in the high risk have registered. dictions. authority to coordinate a areas of the county, including fed- Evacuations comprehensive, consistent Recommendations eral, state and local public lands. continued on Marin’s topography creates approach to pre-ignition 9102 • 9102-8102 YRUJ DNARG LIVIC YTNUOC NIRAM 4 MARIN COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY FINAL REPORT SUMMARIES SMART: First Mile/Last Mile Options Recommendations continued from
• R3
  The Marin County Office of District to establish teen nicotine that enables them to develop Education should partner with cessation programs. 1. Help provide a safe learning positive working relationships high school coaches and the R8. All law enforcement agencies environment for students. with students, school staff, Marin County Athletic League, should coordinate the enforce- 2. Counsel, educate, and build law enforcement, other first educate them on the dangers of ment of sales bans on flavored relationships with students. responders, and community vaping, and develop a program tobacco. groups. Because of this, their SRO Revisited continued on MARIN COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY FINAL REPORT SUMMARIES 7 9102 REBOTCO • 9102-8102 YRUJ DNARG LIVIC YTNUOC NIRAM SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS SRO Revisited continued from REVISITED 3. Enforce laws. Although SROs are sworn law enforcement officers, they do not enforce school policies or maintain discipline. Instead, they focus on building strong, approachable relationships with students and staff, and on identifying and preventing inappropriate behavior on school grounds and throughout the community. School safety is a concern for every community in Marin. In preparing this report, the Marin County Civil Grand Jury consistently heard positive comments about the importance of SROs in maintaining school safety. The Grand Jury also learned that resources to help provide safety at schools differ significantly throughout the county. Only a few school districts have full-time SROs. (Novato police photo) Others are served by the single RECOMMENDATIONS positions. their city councils and law SRO employed by the Sheriff’s enforcement agencies to employ Office, who covers 34 schools R1. SRO programs in Marin R5. The City of San Rafael and maintain a sufficient with over 9,200 students, County should be retained should have at least one throughout a 521 square mile or expanded where they now additional full-time SRO. number of SROs. territory. Disturbingly, some exist. SRO programs should R6. Mill Valley should employ R10. School districts and schools have no assigned SRO be established to cover those a full-time SRO who regularly municipalities should explore coverage. school districts where they do visits its schools rather than funding sources such as grants, Funding SROs to serve at not exist. simply assigning an officer to be bond issues, special taxes, and schools in Marin County is a R2. Municipalities, school on call for its schools. other sources. sound investment because it districts, and law enforcement R7. All SROs should complete R11. School districts and prevents crime and teaches agencies in Marin County SRO Police Officer Standards of municipalities should consider students to trust and work with should make SRO programs a Training by July 1, 2020. sharing the costs and services of law enforcement officers and high budgetary priority. R8. Law enforcement agencies SRO programs. other authority figures. It also
• R4
  Upon completion of the mous shuttle for connection new options for first and last mile
• R5
  Promote the creation of vegetation inspectors and at least Alert Marin and Nixle, as opt-in Firewise Communities in every The Grand Jury proposes eight fire/fuels crews focused on neighborhood by all local juris- systems, warn only those who the creation of a joint powers fuel reduction in the high risk dictions. have registered. authority to coordinate a areas of the county, including fed- Recommendations Evacuations comprehensive, consistent eral, state and local public lands. continued on approach to pre-ignition Marin's topography creates MARIN COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY FINAL REPORT SUMMARIES SMART: First Mile/Last Mile Options Recommendations continued from -
• R6
  Employ individuals with all pending and future traffic/ skills in public speaking, teach- road projects along major escape ing, curriculum design, graphics, routes. web design, advertising, com-
• R7
  Collect Marin residents’ Radio Authority communica- information and add it to Alert tions system without further Marin and Nixle databases to delay. make them opt-out systems. R14. The Transportation Au-
• R8
  Expand the use of sirens with thority of Marin must convene Long Range Acoustic Devices. all stakeholders no later than December 31, 2019, to address Evacuations congestion on escape routes in
• R9
  Research, develop, and pub- an evacuation. lish plans for the mass movement Umbrella Entity of populations along designated
• R10
  Give the highest priority to brella organization for wildfire mitigating known choke points planning and preparedness and to maximizing the capacity (vegetation management, public of existing evacuation routes. education, alerts, and evacua-
• R11
  Incorporate and prioritize tion), funded by a ¼ cent sales Photo Credit: Marin County Civil Grand Jury plans for mass evacuations in tax. Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit Measure Q, the voter initiative RESPONSE FROM MARIN AGENCIES (SMART) has been operational that established a sales tax to fund The Marin cities, towns, fire ■ Alert and warning en- since August 2017, providing SMART operations, requires agencies and County are ad- hancements passenger rail service between SMART to publish a strategic dressing this recommendation ■ Pursuit of grant funds for the Sonoma County Airport plan update every five years. With with a working group to explore countywide efforts, as well Station and downtown San Rafael. previous plans published in 2009 the creation of a countywide as grant funding to assist Expansion of service to Larkspur and 2014, the next update is due Landing is scheduled for late 2019. in 2019. SMART management has wildfire prevention program seniors, financially disad- One of the objectives of SMART assured the Grand Jury that the governed by a countywide joint vantaged and those with power authority. The program access and functional needs is to provide a transit alternative 2019 update is under development scope for ongoing, locally-con- with preparedness mea- between Sonoma and Marin. and scheduled to be released in the trolled, countywide wildfire pre- sures. SMART’s success will, in part, fall of 2019. depend on the convenience of east- All possibilities to enhance vention program would include This program would require and improve first and last mile west and north-south connectivity the following: new, ongoing funding. We are connections should be examined, to/from the stations, often referred currently exploring a potential ■ Fire fuel reduction and including expansion of Marin to as “first mile - last mile.” countywide parcel tax measure vegetation management Connect to include additional areas in March 2020. Based on our The Marin County Civil Grand ■ Defensible-space home feedback from Marin fire- Jury issued two earlier reports on outside of the North San Rafael evaluations and education responsible agencies, we believe SMART operations. The current pilot zone. The feasibility of using autonomous shuttles should be ■ Evacuation planning and that a parcel tax is the appropri- Grand Jury report focuses on considered since the technology is neighborhood preparedness ate funding mechanism. connectivity to SMART stations located in Marin County. SMART continued on MARIN COUNTY CIVIL GRAND JURY FINAL REPORT SUMMARIES 5 9102 REBOTCO • 9102-8102 YRUJ DNARG LIVIC YTNUOC NIRAM VAPING: An Under-the-Radar Epidemic Marin County has a youth health crisis—vaping. Vaping among our seventh, ninth, and 11th graders more than doubled in two years, with 47% of 11th graders admitting to having vaped. The numbers may actually be higher, as teens notoriously under-report. Vaping is inhaling aerosols created when fluids in electronic smoking devices (e-cigarettes and similar products) are heated. Most vaping products contain highly addictive nicotine. Vaping can cause irreparable damage to vapers’ health and subject them to lifelong problems. Vaping liquids come in adolescent-appealing flavors. Vaping products are gateway drugs and young vapers frequently move on to smoking cigarettes. Local school officials have called vaping their number one problem. Billion-dollar corporations have expressly designed, flavored, and marketed their products to hook adolescents. A single vaping cartridge contains as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes. To combat vaping, a four- pronged approach is needed: ■ Limit the availability of flavored tobacco. VAPING continued on Photo Credit: iStockPhoto SMART continued from RECOMMENDATIONS Connect beyond northern San the station and the Larkspur available and is currently deployed Rafael no later than the first ferry terminal should be estab- in a number of pilot projects. R1. Transportation Authority of quarter of 2020. lished. Given that SMART has been Marin and Marin Transit should operational for less than two years, conduct surveys and pertinent R3. SMART should complete R5. SMART, Transportation they and their partner transit research, using the criteria of and publish its feasibility study Authority of Marin and Marin agencies have done a commendable convenience, cost, and accessi- by July 2019 on the east-west Transit should prepare a joint job in developing numerous modes bility to determine optimal “first track connecting to an Amtrak feasibility study for the possible for traveling to and from SMART mile - last mile” connections to station in the East Bay. implementation of an autono- stations. The expectation is that SMART stations.
• R12
  Educate, prepare, and drill munity organization, commu- for evacuations in all communi- nity relations, and diplomacy to ties. educate the public.
• R13
  Fully integrate public tran- Alerts sit into the Marin Emergency
• R14
  The Transportation Au- thority of Marin must convene
• R15
  Establish in the form of a evacuation routes. Joint Powers Authority an um-