Be Prepared For Tuesday’s Nor’easter With Important Belmont Safety Numbers

Photo: Get ready for a parking ban on Tuesday.

If you thought you wouldn’t need to use the snow shovel or salt on the sidewalk this warmer-than-usual winter, you would be in for a rude surprise on Tuesday morning as an old-fashioned nor’easter will slam into Massachusetts, according to the National Weather Service, which has issued a Winter Storm Warning for most of the region.

For Belmont residents, Tuesday will be about parking restrictions and having town resources close at hand.

“A significant winter storm will continue impacting the Southern Rockies and High Plains today before turning northeast and aiming for the Northern Mid-Atlantic, New York, and New England early this week,” said an NWS press release sent out at 3 a.m. Sunday, Feb 11.

“Heavy snow is possible. Total snow accumulations of 4 to 8 inches are possible. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph,” predicts the NWS on Sunday. The storm will start late Monday night and last through late Tuesday night. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute.

Residents should expect the Belmont Police to issue a Snow Emergency Parking Ban just before the storm arrives. During the ban, vehicles parked on town roadways, and in municipal and Belmont Public School parking lots will be towed at the owner’s expense.

Residents should visit the town’s website for information on winter weather and the snow removal bylaw.

With high winds expected, there is a possibility power to residences will be impacted. Residents should contact Belmont Light to report outages – do not call 911 unless it is a true emergency.

  • Call Belmont Light at 617-993-2800 to report an outage.
  • To text an outage report, message your information to 617-993-6006 (message and data rates may apply) with your name, address, and outage information. 

No Arrest During Belmont PD/State Police Action On Channing Road

Photo: A screenshot from a video on several social media sites showing the police action that took place on Channing Road in Belmont on Saturday, Feb. 10.

For residents of Cross Street and Channing Road, Saturday’s false spring was greeted with a phalanx of law enforcement blocking the roadways as several police agencies descended on the neighborhood adjacent to Belmont Center, seeking a possible suspect in a suspected shooting that took place 65 miles away the night before.

At approximately 9:30 a.m., on Feb. 10, a tactical vehicle from the Massachusetts State Police was parked in the middle of the intersection of Channing and Cross with heavily armed officers in combat gear directing people from a residence. One person in a video uploaded to social media was assisted away from the house.

As of Sunday morning, no arrests were reported as part of the action.

“Today, the Belmont Police Department assisted the Massachusetts State Police in executing a search warrant at a residence in Belmont,” said Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac in a press release on Saturday.

MacIsaac said ”the circumstances prompting the issuance of the search warrant did not transpire within Belmont’s jurisdiction, [c]onsequently, there is no cause for concern regarding criminal activity in Belmont.” MacIsaac referred all inquires to the Bristol County District Attorney, which has yet to make a statement.

Social media has been actively speculating on the “Who, What, When, Why and Where” of Saturday’s action incident. Many agreed with noted attorney Wendy Murphy who wrote that it was “Related to a gang murder in Fall Riverr.”

The most recent shooting in Fall River occurred on Friday, Feb. 9, where a 34-year-old man was found suffering from gunshot wounds, according to Fall River police. The victim was taken to a trauma center in critical condition.

The last murder in Fall River occurred on Dec. 23 when a 44-year-old man was shot and killed on a porch, according to the Fall River Herald. A Connecticut man was later arrested in that case.

Select Board OKs New Three-Year Contract For Belmont Police Chief MacIsaac

Photo: Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac

The Belmont Select Board approved a new three-year contract for Belmont Police Department Chief James MacIsaac at its virtual meeting on Monday, Jan. 22.

According to Kelly King, the town’s Human Resources Director, MacIsaac’s new base annual salary will increase to $225,000 when the new contract begins on Jan. 1, 2025, and runs through Dec. 31, 2027.

King said MacIsaac is eligible for a cost of living adjustment (COLA) and a merit-based increase on July 1 of each contract year.

According to Roy Epstein, the select board chair, MacIsaac’s new salary “is certainly in the middle” of police chiefs salary range of comparable communities. “We believe it is reasonable,” he said.

Belmont Police Issues Snow Emergency Parking Ban Beginning Late Saturday As Winter Storm Watch Is Declared

Photo: Parking ban begins 11:45 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6.

In an attempt to get ahead of the first nor’easter of the winter, the Belmont Police Department has announced a Snow Emergency Parking Ban on all town roadways, as well as in municipal parking lots and Belmont Public School parking lots, effective Saturday Jan. 6, at 11:45 p.m. and continuing until further notice. Any vehicle parked in violation of the ban will be towed at the owner’s expense.

The ban comes as the Boston office of the National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Watch from Saturday afternoon through late Sunday night for eastern Massachusetts including Belmont.

“Heavy snow possible. Total snow accumulations of 3 to 8 inches possible. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph,” according to the NWS which released the warning at 4:34 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 5.

Town officials are reminding residents the town’s residential snow removal bylaw requires sidewalks along residential property to be cleared of snow and ice by 8 p.m. the day after a storm ends. Snow and ice should be cleared or treated from sidewalks to a width of at least 36 inches.

Residents should go to the town’s web site for further information regarding winter weather and the town’s snow removal bylaw .

Expect Delays On Trapelo Road Thursday, Friday As Waltham Honors Fallen Officer

Photo: Waltham Police Officer Paul Tracey (City of Waltham website)

Due to the large number of people and police departments expected to attend services for Waltham Police Officer Paul Tracey, who was killed last week, the Belmont Police Department is advising residents and commuters to avoid Trapelo Road heading towards Waltham on Thursday and Friday, Dec. 14 and 15.

The wake and funeral mass will occur at Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted Church, 920 Trapelo Rd. in Waltham. The wake is scheduled from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Thursday, the funeral services will begin at 10 a.m. on Friday. The burial will occur around 1 p.m. at Mount Feake Cemetery in southwest Waltham.

Waltham plans to close Trapelo Road for most of the day on Thursday and Friday to accommodate traffic to the church as thousands of uniformed officers from across the region, and country will come to Waltham to remember Tracey with his family and friends.

Tracey and National Grid employee Roderick Jackson were killed when a pickup driven by Peter Simon of Woodsville, NH crashed into them at a work site on Totten Pond Road, Dec. 6. 

Belmont Police To Obtain Service Dog Through Largess Of The Allisons.

Photo: The Labrador Retriever is coming to the Belmont Police Department

Elisabeth and Graham Allison have been benefactors to the town of Belmont and its residents for many years, giving of their time and funds. And in the latest example of their largess, the Belmont Police Department will soon be the home of its first service dog.

At a recent meeting of the Select Board, the Allisons donated $9,525 for the purchase and training of a service animal. Unlike the department’s canine that goes on patrol with an officer, the service dog “will create a less stressful and more welcoming environment,” said Elisabeth Allison.

Elisabeth Allison told the board the donation will allow Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac to follow a trend begun by Middlesex District Attorney and Belmont resident Marion Ryan and that other police departments – including Reading, Maynard, and Tewksbury – have adopted.

“They are praising this program … I did some research, we put together a proposal, and I presented it [the Allisons] and they fully supported it,” said MacIsaac.

The service dog will venture outside the police station “to create a bond with the Belmont Police community, improve our public/police relations, and comfort the community during times of high stress,” said MacIsaac, noting the times a young person or someone in trauma or anxiety have been in the police headquarters for hours, “and it would be very beneficial to have a comfort dog present.”

The support from the board for the new addition to the police force was unanimous. “I’ve really seen how a dog can improve stressful and mental health situations,” said Elizabeth Dionne.

The dog will be arriving in December. And the bred? Why, the Labrador Retriever. Elisabeth Allison – a noted dog lover – said the Lab is often regarded as “the world’s best all-round dog who is ideal for this service.”

A Second Bite: Select Board Seeks Residents View On Ending Civil Service For Police On Thursday

Photo: Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac

It’s a second bite at the apple as the Belmont Select Board will be holding a hybrid public meeting on Thursday, Sept. 7, to discuss whether or not the Belmont Police Department should end its relationship with the state’s Civil Service system.

The meeting will occur in the Select Board Conference Room in Town Hall at 7 p.m. Residents can attend via Zoom at this link.

The meeting marks a second attempt to end the police department’s relationship with the government agency designed to provide fairness in the public sector, in entry-level hiring, and promotions, including bypass in rank, demotions, layoffs, and discipline which includes suspensions and terminations.

Supporters of ending civil service, which included town officials, the Select Board, and the leaders of both fire and police departments, believe the town would see significant cost savings by ending a 108-year-old arcane system for hiring and promotions, replacing it with an efficiently run locally-focused practice. 

Opponents made up of the rank and file of Belmont Fire and Police and resident supporters said changes to civil service – such as altering age limits and increasing diversity in the number of candidates – can be made by changes to the existing language of the agreement.

The last time the issue came before a Town Meeting, an article removing civil service for Belmont’s Police and Fire departments was withdrawn by the Select Board minutes before it was to be presented before a contentious Special Town Meeting in September 2020.

Since then, issues with Civil Service requirements continue to plague hiring at the Police Department. In 2021, Police Chief James MacIsaac pointed to an inability to fill important entry posts for two years due to the limited number of candidates he could choose from. He also said he could bring a more diverse group of candidates to the hiring process outside of Civil Service.

While more than 130 cities and towns have accepted Civil Service, many communities have recently ended their relationship, including Lexington in 2019.

Select Board Increases Most Parking Tickets To $25

Photo: A close call whether this vehicle is impeding sidewalk travel

For the first time in more than a decade, most parking ticket fines are increasing, going up $10 to $25 after a vote by the Select Board on Monday, April 11. But it could take a while before scofflaws hand over the higher fine.

The hike in the parking penalties came as part of a presentation of a citizens’ petition that will come before Town Meeting on May 3.

Town Meeting Member Gi Yoon-Huang of Winn Street (Precinct 8) told the Board of a safety issue involving vehicles that jut out of driveways and block the sidewalk. She said in her precinct, this is forcing children and parents heading to the Winn Brook School to enter the street to go around them.

She was spurred to launch this effort after speaking to a resident who uses a walker and fell attempting to move past a car blocking the sidewalk.

Yoon-Huang said while police would respond quickly to calls and the owners eventually move their vehicles, “it would often be a repeat offender … and it took us years to have this one street cleared.”

“The main goal [of the petition] is to bring awareness that this is a problem, but also to further clarify it further,” said Yoon-Huang.

Her petition would also increase the parking fine for this offense – after a first warning – which will increase with each infraction; a second ticket would be $50 and a third and more at $100. The petition would require stepped up communication with residents on the new bylaw.

“This is to help improve safety for everyone,” said Yoon-Huang, who has agreed to make a presentation before Town Meeting at which time the town will adopt the bylaw provisions into the existing parking regulations. Her petition will then be tabled, and a motion to dismiss will be presented to Town Meeting.

Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac said his department actively targets any vehicle that is an obstruction, including those crammed into driveways to avoid violating the town’s 60-year-old overnight parking ban enforced between 1 a.m. and 7 a.m.

“So they have a choice to make. They leave the car out at night, and they absolutely get a ticket, or they squeeze it in the driveway. An officer working the midnight shift is not going to probably tag those cars in the drive way as they are making an effort to be off the street,” said MacIsaac.

But for a group of residents, the current $15 fine isn’t much of a deterrent. “Some people pay them and just go on violating it,” he said, noting the last time Belmont increased ticket fees was 2005, and before that, in the 1980s.

A few parking violations have unique penalties, such as parking at an MBTA bus stop which is $100, and $50 for stopping in a designated bike lane.

MacIsaac noted that during his nearly quarter century in law enforcement, residents’ first and overriding complaint about his department is parking tickets. “I’ve been people get ten times more upset getting a $15 parking ticket than a $200 speeding ticket.” The chief said officers issue an average of 28 parking tickets daily, of which eight to nine are overnight violations.

MacIsaac said that of the two sections of state law (MGL 9020) governing traffic citations, Belmont adopted the one where most tickets top out at $25. He said creating a unique violation with an increasing fee would run counter to state law. If the town wants to raise ticket fees, it should adopt the other section of the ticketing law – which only Boston and Cambridge have adopted – under which Belmont can jack up parking ticket fees to $60.

“I actually think that the dollar fine would really spur good behavior,” said Elizabeth Dionne on her first meeting as a board member. “I think $20 is not that significant. I think $50 and $100. The goal is never to collect the money. The goal is to have clear sidewalks.”

Board member Roy Epstein believes that “it’s not necessary to jump to a very high fine right away” to force compliance; instead using the existing enforcement options available to the town. He said under the current traffic citation law, the police can return to towing vehicles (suspended during COVID) for someone with a significant number of tickets as well as “boot” vehicles “just to let them know that we are serious about this.”

While not wanting to impose a significant increase in the parking fee structure, Epstein said it was time to bring these penalties to a more realistic level.

“I think its time to increase all of the $15 to $20 because of 20 years of inflation,” said Epstein, with Dionne suggesting upping it to $25.

The discussion then proceeded to whether the town needed to include vehicles as an “obstruction” impeding pedestrian travel on a sidewalk. Town Moderator Patrice Garvin said town bylaws already call for action on any “obstruction,” whether it’s a car, shrubbery, or snow.

Rather than bringing complicated issues on enforcement before the 290-member Town Meeting, Paolillo said the board would “combine the spirit of some of the things [in the citizens’ petition] into our parking regulations and increase our fines. I think that goes a long way to address the concerns of the petitioners.”

While the board quickly passed the new $25 parking fine, there will be some leeway before the bylaw goes into effect. MacIsaac said the department will need to finish the existing supply of ticket books with the old fine before ordering a new batch with the $25 fee.

Belmont Police Promote Donahue To Captain

Photo: BPD Lt. Christopher Donahue (left) being sworn in as a captain by Belmont Town Clerk Ellen Cushman at Police HQ

The Belmont Police Department promoted Lt. Christopher Donahue to captain on Thursday, Feb. 23, when Town Clerk Ellen Cushman swore in Donahue at Police Headquarters.

“I want to congratulate Capt. Donahue on his well-deserved promotion,” said Belmont Police Chief James Maclsaac. “Throughout his career, Capt. Donahue has shown unwavering dedication to the Belmont Police Department, and I am confident he will excel in his newly appointed role.” 

Donahue has been a member of the Belmont Police Department for 27 years, serving in various capacities, beginning his career in 1996 as a patrol officer. In 2000, Capt. Donahue was promoted to sergeant, where he helped the department for four years before his appointment to lieutenant in 2004. In 2020, Donahue was assigned as the Officer in Charge of the department’s Detective Division.

Donahue also graduated from the elite law enforcement leadership program at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, VA.

Donahue has received numerous awards and commendations over his career including the Chief’s commendation 2011 and the Sept. 11 Award, presented by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office for his work with high-risk domestic violence cases. The award is presented annually to one or more first responders or investigators for demonstrating extraordinary courage, bravery and/or selflessness in a way that is reminiscent of first responders who responded to the World Trade Center on 9/11.

BPD Officer D’Andrea Awarded Department’s Lifesaving Award

Photo: From left, Belmont Police Officer Marco D’Andrea receiving a Lifesaving Award from Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac for his heroic efforts on Thursday, Feb. 9. (Photo courtesy of the Belmont Police Department)

Belmont Police Chief James MacIsaac awarded BPD Officer Marco D’Andrea the department’s Lifesaving Award on Feb. 15 following his actions during a sporting event while he was off duty. 

“Our officers are sworn to protect and serve, and that commitment extends beyond their time in uniform, as Officer D’Andrea showed,” said MacIsaac who presented

D’Andrea was recognized for his actions that occurred on Thursday, Feb. 9. While off-duty at a soccer match in Belmont High School’s Wenner Field House, D’Andrea acted to assist a fellow player who suffered a medical emergency.

The 62-year-old man, who wishes to remain anonymous, collapsed while participating in the soccer match. D’Andrea took immediate action by ensuring Belmont EMS was called before beginning to perform CPR. He instructed a bystander with retrieving an automatic external defibrillator (AED) and used it on the patient.

After the AED was used, the patient regained consciousness. On-duty first responders arrived on the scene and provided additional care until Belmont firefighters arrived and transported the man to a hospital.

“We are all proud of his quick thinking and calm actions, and grateful that an AED was available as a resource, which helped save the life of a fellow participant that day,” said MacIsaac.