League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Marin County, CA November 3, 2015 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Director; Tamalpais Community Services District

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of Marin County and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Emergency Services Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. How confident are you with the emergency services your district provides? Are there improvements that are needed? Answer from Matt McMahon: TCSD has recognized the importance of its position within the community and has been a proactive contributor to emergency preparedness in Tam Valley. Activities include the following: - Annual brush and debris clearing program on TCSD lands in partnership with the conservation corp - Bi-annual debris drop off days at TCSD offices where residents can bring in debris to be disposed of by TCSD - Periodic chipper days where TCSD goes to different neighborhoods to chip and remove debris from the neighborhood - The Tam Valley Community Center is hub for meeting and provisions in an emergency, with upgrades currently being planned - TCSD was recently awarded a grant for fire safety. TCSD applied for this grant and partnered with Southern Marin Fire District and Marin Fire - TCSD offers sand bag stations at its sewer pump stations - TCSD offers emergency preparedness kits for sale at its offices - TCSD has welcomed partnerships with other agencies such as SMFD, Marin Fire and others TCSD has embraced using social media, such as NextDoor, to inform the community of these programs. I would like to see continued outreach by TCSD to increase awareness and engagement with the community for emergency preparedness in Tam Valley. Answer from Bret William Andrews: Tamalpais Community Services District has 3 functions: Parks and Recreation, Refuse, and Sewer. The district provides no emergency services. Answer from Steven M. "Steve" Levine: Our Tam Valley Community Center is the hub in the provision of all emergency services. We have agreements in place with the Southern Marin Fire District, the Red Cross and the Marin County Sheriff office among other recovery groups to provide emergency and recovery services for Tam Valley residents and businesses. Ongoing and continued development and refinement of our plan as well as regular testing is a priority. Additionally, TCSD encourages residents to create plans to help themselves and their neighbors to prepare for earthquakes, wildfires, floods, etc.. We are currently trying to identify viable escape routes from the various Tam Valley neighborhoods which could be used during emergencies. We welcome ideas on how to create a safe environment on our web site: tcsd.emergencyprep@gmail.com. TCSD also offers 2 styles of Emergency Preparedness Kits for sale to Tam Valley residents. Call the TCSD office at 415-388-6393 if interested. Answer from Steffen Bartschat: The Community Center is a focal point for our community, including emergencies. It has backup power from the diesel generator located in the TCSD yard. A project is currently under way to expand our kitchen which can be useful in emergencies. The TCSD has also been actively involved in attracting Federal and State funding and helping manage several FireSafe projects within our community. We can never be satisfied or confident that we are fully prepared for all emergencies. The Board reviews our Disaster Preparedness guidelines on a regular basis to fine-tune our procedures as required. Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. References to opponents are not permitted. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.