Michael & Rhonda Jusczak v. Dracut, Town of - Engineering Department (SPR 20160764)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Shawn A. Williams Supervisor ofR ecords October 13, 2016 SPR16/764 Mr. Mark Hamel Town Engineer Town of Dracut Engineering Department 62 Arlington Street Dracut, MA 01826 Dear Mr. Hamel: I have received a petition from Michael and Rhonda Jusczak (hereinafter the Jusczaks) appealing the July 14, 2016 response of the Town of Dracut-Engineering and Planning Departments (Town) to their request for public records. See Determinations ofthe Supervisor of Records (March 21, 2016; May 3, 2016 and June 21, 2016). Specifically, the Jusczaks requested copies of all records associated with an application for subdivision approval, including all engineering plans and attachments, as well as related correspondence. Response to June 21,2016 Order of the Supervisor ofR ecords In a response to a prior appeal, on July 14, 2016 the Town provided the Jusczaks with a $5.80 refund of the fee payment made by the Jusczaks prior to receiving records. See SPR16/170 Determination ofthe Supervisor of Records (June 21, 2016). It is my understanding that this refund represents the difference in the fee charged for an estimation of documents versus the actual number of documents identified in correspondence sent to the Jusczaks on May 16, and the recent changes to the costs for photocopies of records. See 950 C.M.R. 32.06. Fee refund insufficient The Jusczaks have appealed the amount of the refund, stating that the Town based the refund on 335 pages of 8.5 x 11 sheets at $.05 per page totaling $16.75, and 15 sheets of sizeD sheets at $1.20 per page totaling $18.00. The Town's total charge for copies was $34.75 and the Jusczaks state that they paid the Town $40.55. The Jusczaks state that they only received 329 pages of 8.5 x 11 sheets, and 3 pages of sizeD sheets. The Jusczaks also indicate that some records provided are not responsive to their request. The Jusczaks state the total cost assessed by the Town should be $20.05, not $34.75. The total amount that the Jusczaks paid up-front is One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 · (617) 727-2832 ·Fax (617) 727-5914 www.sec.state.ma. us/ pre

Mr. Mark Hamel SPR16/764 Page2 October 13, 2016 $40.55. Therefore, the Jusczaks state that the refund check from the Town should be $20.50, not $5.80. The Jusczaks informed this office that due to the incorrect amount of the refund, they are unable to cash the refund check. State of records received by requester; not all requested records provided The Jusczaks informed this office that the records they received were provided in no particular order, and were not provided with a copy of the completed application for subdivision approval with all engineering plans and attachments. It is my understanding that in a May 16, 2016 correspondence, you informed the Jusczaks that "the Engineering and Planning Departments simply cannot provide documents that are not in their possession." The Jusczaks state, "that as part of the sub-division being approved, the document with all the necessary sign offs would absolutely be a requirement." The Jusczaks ask that you inform them whether another Town department is retaining the document in its completion, so that they may receive a copy. Order Accordingly, Town is ordered to provide a newly issued refund check to the Jusczaks. Further, the Town is ordered to provide a written response to the Jusczaks regarding the records requested and indicate whether any additional records exist within the Town, either within the Engineering and Planning Departments or another Town Department. This written response must be prepared in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at ,!;<r"'-'e~""-==7""'-~== Supervisor of Records cc: Michael and Rhonda Jusczak Mr. James A. Duggan, Town Manager