Falvey, Steve v. Dracut, Town of - Town Manager (SPR 20140423)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supe1·visor ofR ecords October 10,2014 SPR14/423 Mr. James A. Duggan Town Manager Town of Dracut 62 Arlington Street Dracut, MA 01826-3953 Dear Mr. Duggan: I have received the petition of Steve Falvey, the Regional Council Representative for the New England Carpenters appealing the nomesponse of the Town of Dracut (Town) to his May 2, 2014 public records request. G. L. c. 66 § 10(b); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(2). Specifically, Mr. Falvey requested paper and electronic copies of certain records regarding the Dracut High School construction project. A record custodian has a duty to comply with a public records request as soon as is practicable, without umeasonable delay, and always within ten (1 0) calendar days. G. L. c. 66, § 10(a); 950 C.M.R. 32.05(2). The ten-day provision is a maximum, rather than a minimum time frame for complying with a public records request. Boston Globe Newspaper Company v. Commissioner of Education, 439 Mass. 124 (2003). On July 25, 2014, after this appeal was opened, Mr. Kristopher Stephenson, Assistant Project Manager of Hill International, Inc., the owners' project manager, asked Mr. Falvey to call him to set-up an appointment to come to the office at the construction site, so that Mr. Falvey could provide an electronic media storage device for receipt ofthe electronic records, and to tag the paper records for copies. On August 13, 2014, Mr. Falvey informed this office that he had visited the site, tagged the paper records he sought copies of, and provided Hill International with a portable storage device to store the responsive electronic records from the project. After the intervention of this office for a second time, on September 11, 2014 Mr. Stephenson apologized to an attorney on my staff for failing to notify Mr. Falvey that the records were available. In an email on September 26, 2014, Mr. Falvey informed Mr. Stephenson that he OneAshburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/pre

Mr. James A. Duggan SPR14/423 Page Two October 10, 2014 now seeks to revise his electronic record request to include all records from the start of the project through September 12, 2014. On September 26, 2014, an attorney on my staff was in contact with both Mr. Falvey and Mr. Stephenson to ensure that Mr. Falvey receives all the requested records. It is my understanding that Mr. Stephenson and Mr. Falvey are working on a date and time that is convenient for Mr. Falvey, so he can receive the records. The Town is reminded that a custodian of records must respond to a public records request within ten (1 0) days, and provide the records within a reasonable time frame. My understanding is that there may have been changes in the management of the company assisting the Town on this project. You may wish to advise this and future vendors of the obligations incumbent upon governmental records custodians in responding to requests for public records. Accordingly, whereas Mr. Stephenson, acting on behalf of the own, has promised to provide Mr. Falvey with the records, I will consider this appeal clos . Supervisor of Records cc: Mr. Steve Falvey Mr. Kristopher Stephenson, Hill International, Inc.