Shapiro, Claudia v. Great Barrington, Town of - Department of Public Works (SPR 20140369)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords August 26, 2014 SPR14/369 Ms. Claudia Shapiro 78 Egremont Plain Road Great Barrington, MA 01230 Dear Ms. Shapiro: I have received your petition appealing the response of the Town of Great Barrington (Town) to your request for public records. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). You requested a copy of the property rate card for an airport located at 70 Egremont Plain Road in Great Barrington. Specifically, you requested the rate card for an entity you referred to as the Walter J. Koladza Airport at 70 Egremont Plain Road. Town Assessor Christopher Lamarre provided a copy of the rate card for 70 Egremont Plain Road, associated not with Walter J. Koladza Airport, but with Berkshire Aviation Enterprises. You appealed this response, as you requested a record associated with Walter J. Koladza Airport. In a telephone conversation Mr. Lamarre confirmed to me that he provided the sole responsive record. To aid in my review of your appeal you provided a Hearing on Petition for Variance notice of the Great Barrington Zoning Board of Appeals. The petition was made by Berkshire Aviation Enterprises, and relates to a request for a special permit for the Walter J. Koladza airport. You also provided a June 23, 2014letter to you from Town Manager Jennifer Tabakin. In that letter Ms. Tabakin indicated that there is no business certificate for an entity doing business as the Walter J. Koladza airport on file with the Town. The duty to comply with requests for information extends only to those records that exist and are in the custody of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). Furthermore, it is the duty of a record custodian to use his superior knowledge of the records to assist a requester in obtaining the records. 950 C.M.R. 32.05(4 ). I accept that both Ms. Tabakin and Mr. Lamarre understood your request and responded to it with the best of their knowledge. OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre

Ms. Claudia Shapiro SPR14/369 Page Two August 26, 2014 Mr. Lamarre confirmed to me via telephone that the Town does not possess a property rate card for the Walter J. Koladza airport at 70 Egremont Plain Road; The Town does, however, possess a property rate card for Berkshire Aviation Enterprise at that same address. That record has been provided to you by the Town. After review, I find the Town acted properly in providing the sole record responsive to your request. This ad · trative appeal is closed. ·Iiams Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Christopher Lamarre Ms. Jennifer Tabakin