Saugus’ Breakheart head worried over lack of police patrols

SAUGUS – Summer has yet to arrive but Ed Murray, chairman of the Friends of Breakheart, is already bracing for the worst.Murray received a letter Monday from Col. Mark F. Delaney of the State Police, informing him that there will be no money available for dedicated police coverage by State Troopers for the 640-acre park this summer. That means the park would have to rely solely on the troopers who happen to be on patrol to respond, which could cause some hardships.”Notwithstanding the discontinuance of these earmarked police patrols, the Massachusetts State Police will continue to respond to calls for service and troopers on patrol within the barracks of jurisdiction will continue to make periodic checks of designated locations,” Delaney wrote. “I certainly regret having to author this letter, however, the fiscal challenges that presently confront us leave me no choice.”The funding loss equals roughly $30,000.”This is really troubling,” Murray said.But Rep. Mark Falzone (D-Saugus) said the concern is a bit hasty. Falzone acknowledged that the earmarks have been in the budget for the last dozen years and said they are still up in the air for 2010.”We haven’t done the budget yet so this is very premature,” he said.He also said if the money is in fact an earmark in the budget, that means it is for a specific purpose and it would not be up to Delaney to change that.Murray, however, said with summer on its way and the threat of even a potential cut in patrols, he can’t help but be concerned.”It’s really troubling because I think we’ll probably see more people than ever come through here because of the economy,” Murray said.Murray said he’s already seen a significant up tick in attendance at events such as last month’s maple sugaring when nearly 900 people passed through the park over two days. Murray said there was a bump last summer as well, as families stayed closer to home for vacations.The lakes in the park have been a magnet for problems in the past with groups congregating in the beach areas and partying late into the night.Murray said it also helps to have the State Troopers in the park simply as a presence, to make a statement.Trooper Michael Popovics, spokesman for the State Police, said it would be hard to pinpoint response times for incidents at the park now because it would depend on where the patrol cars were when calls came in.”They might be right there or they might be as far away as can be,” he said, declining to state how far that might be.Murray, however, said he was told by a trooper during the Haunted Happenings event, which also saw a record number of attendees, that there were two state troopers who covered 200 miles of highway at night.”And if one is called to help out on an accident or something then you have one guy patrolling,” he said.Saugus Police Department spokesman Lt. Michael Annese said the department doesn’t have a regular presence in the park but patrol cars will swing through the area to check on things during a shift.”And if we’re directed to go up there we will,” he said. “If there is a major problem we’ll certainly respond.”Murray said he still feels the park is left exposed and he plans to fight it by reaching out to the state delegation as well as officials in Everett and Chelsea. He said a number of residents from those communities use the park as well.”They can’t keep saying, ‘No money, no money, no money,'” he said. “If I have to pay for a police detail on the Fourth of July they will hear about it. A non-profit group paying for a police detail for a public park – I will make some noise.”