Christopher Donovan v. Norwood, Town of (SPR 20170537)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords April 27, 2017 SPR17/537 Brandon Moss, Esq. Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP 300 Crown Colony Drive, Suite 410 Quincy, MA 02169 Dear Attorney Moss: I have received your petition on behalf of the Town of Norwood (Town) seeking relief from its obligation to produce responsive records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c ); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, the Town furnished a copy of this petition to the requester. G. L. c. 66, § lO(c). Christopher Donovan submitted a request on March 2, 2017 for three categories of records related to Norwood Memorial Airport, the FAA, and correspondence with two specific compames. Previous appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. SPRl 7/377 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (April 7, 2017). The Town provided a fee estimate of $350 for the provision of records. I understand Mr. Donovan paid this amount and records were produced to him. ih In my April determination I found the Town must clarify whether records are in an electronic format, whether the Town is planning to make the records available for inspection, and whether any statutory basis requires that the Town redact certain information in the records. I ordered the Town to provide Mr. Donovan with a response to the request, including a revised written, good faith estimate, provided in a manner consistent with the order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations. Current petition The Town subsequently submitted a petition dated April 20, 2017 in which it requests that I "(l) reconsider and rescind the April 7, 2017 order; (2) dismiss the appeal of the petitioner/requester, Christopher Donovan ('Mr. Donovan'), of Boston Executive Helicopters, LLC ('BEH'); and (3) take no further action and order that no further action need be taken by the Town." The Town seeks reconsideration because "Mr. Donovan's requests are directly related to One Ashburton Place, Room 1719, Boston, Massachusetts 02108 • (617) 727-2832• Fax: (617) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre• pre@sec.state.ma.us

Brandon Moss, Esq. SPRl 7/537 Page 2 April 27, 2017 pending litigation involving the Town and its officials, a pending administrative matter between the Town and BEH (of which Mr. Donovan serves as President) .... " The Town's petition for relief from its obligation to produce records is based on its position that the requests "are part of a series of actions intended to harass and/or intimidate the Town and its officials." Request for reconsideration The Town explains there are five "currently pending litigation and administrative matters in which the Town is a named or involved party, stemming from BEH." The Town provides docket numbers and cites 950 CMR 32.08(2)(b) (1) in support of its position that I should deny Mr. Donovan's appeal because of the active litigation. The pertinent regulatory provision provides "the Supervisor may deny an appeal for, among other reasons if, in the opinion of the Supervisor the public records in question are the subjects of disputes in active litigation, administrative hearings or mediation." See 950 CMR 32.08(2)(b)(l). Whereas the Town previously provided a fee estimate, Mr. Donovan provided payment to the Town, records were provided, and I previously issued a determination regarding this request, in my discretion, I decline to invoke 950 CMR 32.08(2)(b )(1) in this matter. Therefore, I decline to reverse or rescind my April J1h determination. Request for relieff rom obligation to produce responsive records Under the Public Records Law, if the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. G. L. c. 66 § 10(c ). The Town indicates that Mr. Donovan has made several requests for public records and they "are inconsistent with the purpose of the Public Records Law, and constitute the harassment and/or intimidation of the Town and its officials, without any countervailing public benefit." Mr. Donovan submitted an email to this office dated April 21, 201 7 in which he describes reasons for his requests and his interest in the Town making additional records available on its website. Based on the information provided in the April 20th petition and Mr. Donovan's correspondence, I find the Town has not met its burden to establish that relief of its obligation to respond to Mr. Donovan's requests is appropriate at this time. See G. L. c. 66 § lO(c). Conclusion Accordingly, I decline to grant the Town's request for reconsideration and relief of its obligation to provide public records responsive to Mr. Donovan's requests. The Town must provide a response to Mr. Donovan in a manner prescribed by the April J1h order within five business days.

Brandon Moss, Esq. SPRl 7/537 Page 3 April 27, 2017 Sincerely, ~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Christopher Donovan