AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE ASSABET PUBLIC SAFETY DISTRICT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. As used in this act, the following words shall have the following meanings:-
"Appointing community", the member community in which an officer has been appointed as a police officer.
"District", the Assabet public safety district.
"Member community", the town of Berlin or the city of Marlborough.
"Member communities", the town of Berlin and the city of Marlborough.
"On-duty officer", an officer who has been assigned to duty, for whatever purpose, by the police department of his appointing community. Except when actually relieved of his official duties, the chief of police of the member communities shall be considered, for the purposes of this act, to be on-duty at all times.
"Other member community", the member community other than the one in which an officer has been appointed as a police officer.
SECTION 2. There is hereby established the Assabet Public Safety District, consisting of land and waters located in the town of Berlin and the city of Marlborough, the boundaries of which are described in section 9.
SECTION 3. (a) The city of Marlborough shall have primary responsibility for providing emergency and nonemergency police services to the district. In the case of emergency and nonemergency police services, officers of the Marlborough police department shall have primary jurisdictional authority within the district and officers of the Berlin police department shall have concurrent jurisdictional authority. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to effect either the inspection or license and permit issuing authority of the chiefs of police of the member communities.
(b) The city of Marlborough shall have primary responsibility for providing emergency and nonemergency fire services to the district. In regard to emergency fire services, the chief, officers and firefighters of the Marlborough fire department shall have primary jurisdiction within the district and the chief, officers and firefighters of the Berlin fire department shall have concurrent jurisdiction. Each fire chief of the member communities shall develop and issue, to his department, uniform protocols for providing emergency and nonemergency fire services to the district. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to effect either the inspection or license and permit issuing authority of the fire chiefs of the member communities.
(c) The city of Marlborough shall have primary responsibility for providing emergency medical services to the district. In regard to emergency medical services, the chief of the Marlborough fire department and the agents, employees or servants of the city of Marlborough shall have primary jurisdiction; the chief, officers and members of the Berlin rescue squad shall have concurrent jurisdiction. The chief of the Marlborough fire department and the chief of the Berlin rescue squad shall develop and issue to his department, uniform protocols for providing emergency medical services to the district.
(d) (1) The city of Marlborough's public safety answering point (PSAP) shall provide PSAP service to the district.
(2) The city of Marlborough's public safety communications unit shall be the designated answering or monitoring point for burglar, fire or other emergency alarms located within the district.
(e) The member communities may jointly enter into mutual aid agreements with nonmember communities for emergency medical services, fire and police mutual aid within the district. The chief of police of the city of Marlborough or his designee shall be authorized to request, pursuant to the provisions of section 99 of chapter 41 of the General Laws, mutual aid assistance within the district.
SECTION 4. (a) Within the district, police officers of the town of Berlin and the city of Marlborough shall have all the authority and powers of a constable or police officer, except as to service of civil process.
(b) Except in accordance with this act, section 99 of chapter 41 of the General Laws, any applicable police mutual aid agreement or any other statutory or common law grant of extra-jurisdictional authority, police officers of the member communities shall not exercise the authority of a police officer in the other member community. Pursuant to this act, an on-duty police officer of a member community shall have all of the authority of a constable or police officer, except as to service of civil process, in the other member community; provided, however, that:
(1) the officer's presence in the other member community results from or is incidental to the officer's performance of his official duties for the district;
(2) the officer is aiding or assisting an officer of the other member community;
(3) the officer has responded to an incident or an offense in the other member community at the request of an officer or dispatcher of the police department of the other member community;
(4) the officer has responded to an incident or offense in the other member community in the belief that the incident or offense is occurring or did occur in his appointing community;
(5) the officer has observed an incident or offense occurring in the other member community and reasonably believes that immediate police action is required to protect life or property or to prevent the escape of a suspect;
(6) the officer is in fresh and continuous pursuit of a suspect who, the officer has probable cause to believe, committed a criminal offense or civil infraction in the officer's appointing community;
(7) the officer has been assigned to a task force or other specialized unit, consisting of officers of the member communities, and is engaged in performing duties related to such assignment; and
(8) the officer has been requested, by the police department of the other member community, to perform a paid detail within such other member community.
Each chief of police of the member communities shall develop and issue, to his department, a uniform policy and procedures for the exercise of such extra-jurisdictional authority.
SECTION 5. (a) Each criminal offense and civil infraction committed within the district shall, for the purposes of venue, be alleged to have been committed in the city of Marlborough. Such offense and infractions shall be within the territorial jurisdiction of the district court of Marlborough and the superior court of Middlesex county. No defendant shall be discharged for want of jurisdiction if, at trial, the evidence discloses that the crime with which he is charged is determined to have been committed in Worcester county.
(b) The parking clerk of the city of Marlborough shall serve as the parking clerk for the district and may exercise all of the powers and authority granted to parking clerks by the general laws for the district.
(c) Nothing in this act shall be deemed to effect or alter any statutory provision for the disposition or disbursement of fines, penalties and court costs to municipalities.
SECTION 6. (a) The board of selectmen of the town of Berlin and the city council of the city of Marlborough, may, by a majority vote of each body, enact regulations for the district relative to the maintenance of peace and order, the control of traffic and parking and the control of dogs and other animals. Such regulations shall take effect only after review and approval by the attorney general and publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the member communities. Violations of such regulations shall be enforceable by civil or criminal penalties, not to exceed $300 per offense. Each regulation enacted shall specify whether it is civil or criminal in nature.
(b) Enactment of a specific regulation authorized by this section shall, within the district only, void any by-law of the town of Berlin or ordinances of the city of Marlborough regulating the same subject matter.
(c) A person, who remains within the district while in wilful violation of a regulation which is punishable by a criminal penalty, may be arrested by a police officer pursuant to the provisions of section 59 of chapter 272 of the General Laws.
SECTION 7. An agent, employee or officer of any public safety department of a member community shall not be required to take any additional oath of office prior to exercising any authority granted by this act.
SECTION 8. Except as specified herein, nothing in this act shall be deemed to limit or interfere with the authority or jurisdiction of any governmental body, court, officer, agency or department of the commonwealth, Middlesex or Worcester counties, the town of Berlin or the city of Marlborough.
SECTION 9. The Assabet public safety district is bounded and described as follows:
(a) The following parcels of land, located in the city of Marlborough in Middlesex County and the town of Berlin in Worcester county, located on the northerly side of Donald J. Lynch boulevard and the southerly side of Bridge road and Bigelow street, being shown as Lots DE2, DM2 and DM4 on an Approval Not Required Plan entitled: "Plan of Land in Marlborough, Mass. & Berlin, Mass.", dated November 15, 1994, Scale: 1" = 100', by Hayes Engineering, Inc., recorded December 29, 1994 with Middlesex south district registry of deeds as Plan No. 1306 of 1994 and with the Worcester district registry of deeds on December 23, 1994 as Plan Book 689, Plan 3.
(b) Those certain parcels of land in the city of Marlborough, located on the southerly side of Donald J. Lynch boulevard, being shown as Lot DM6 and Parcel 4 on an Approval Not Required plan entitled "Plan of Land in Marlborough, Mass." Scale 1" = 100', dated November 30, 1994, by Hayes Engineering, Inc., recorded with Middlesex south deeds as Plan No. 1307 of 1994.
(c) The land in the town of Berlin, shown as Parcel A on a plan entitled "Land in Berlin, Massachusetts, surveyed for E.L. Dauphinais, Inc.", dated June, 1987, prepared by Charles A. Perkins Company, Inc., recorded with Worcester district registry of deeds in Plan Book No. 588 as Plan No. 84.
(d) The land in the city of Marlborough, Massachusetts, being Grantor's remaining interest in Parcel 2 as shown on said Plan No. 1607 following the conveyance to Paramount Development Associates, Inc., by deed dated April 29, 1991, recorded with Middlesex south registry of deeds in Book 21125 Page 390 of Parcel E as shown on the plan entitled "Land in Marlborough, Mass. owned by Marlborough Associates II Realty Trust" dated October 19, 1990. Said "Parcel E Plan", recorded with said Middlesex south registry of deeds as Plan No. 305 of 1991, Book 21125, Page 389.