Kelly M. Kelly v. Townsend, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20171122)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records August 25,2017 SPR1711122 Kathleen M. Spofford Town Clerk Town of Townsend 272 Main Street Townsend, MA 01469 Dear Ms. Spofford: I have received your petition on behalf of the Town of Townsend (Town) seeking relief from its obligation to produce responsive records sought by Kelly Kelly and Stephen Sheldon. G. L. c. 66, 5 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 requesters. G. L, c. 66, 5 10(c). Ms. Kelly has made several public records request since January 20 17, including two she submitted on August 8, 201 7 and August 9,2017 . Mr. Sheldon has also made several requests to the Town since January 20 17, including one he submitted to the Town on August 10,2017 . The Town is requesting relief from the obligation to provide public records to both Ms. Kelly and Mr. Sheldon. Petitions for an extension of time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; One Ashburton Place, Room 171 9, Boston, Massachusetts 021 08 (61 7) 727-2832- Fax: (61 7) 727-5914 sec.state.ma.us/pre pre@sec.state.ma.us

Kathleen M. Spofford Page 2 August 25,20 17 (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. 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 Id. obligation to provide copies of the records sought. The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requester within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 CMR 3 6.06(4)(b). Request for relieffom obligation to produce responsive records In its August 1g thp etition the Town notes it "respectfully requests that the Supervisor of Public Records relieve it of its obligation to respond to requests received from Ms. Kelly Kelly and/or Mr. Stephen Sheldon on August 8, 9 and 10." The Town indicates "Ms. Kelly and Mr. Sheldon frequently act 'in tandem' in making request and copy each other on said requests." The Town states "these four requests are part of a 'series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass' the RAO and other Town records custodians." The Town further explains "having to continually respond to these requests keep officers and employees from performing their other duties." It is the Town's position that Ms. Kelly and Mr. Sheldon are "part of a small group of residents that has been engaged in opposing the Townsend Board of Selectman and Town Administrator" and "the voluminous and continuous filing of these frivolous requests is part of the efforts of these two individuals to 'intimidate or harass' Town officials." Upon review of the documents provided with the petition, Ms. Kelly and Mr. Sheldon's requests are limited in scope and pertain to government activity. Further, their communications with the Town do not appear abusive in nature. Although the requesters have submitted several requests during the year, I find the Town has not met its burden to establish Ms. Kelly and Mr. Sheldon's requests are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass and not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity. Conclusion Accordingly, I decline to grant the Town's request for relief of its obligation to provide public records responsive to Ms. Kelly and Mr. Sheldon's requests. G. L. c. 66, 5 10(c).

Kathleen M. Spofford Page 3 August 25,2017 However, if the Town requires additional time beyond the timeframes allowed G. L. c. 66, 8 1O (b)(vi) to produce the responsive records, it may submit a petition seeking an extension of time in accordance with G. L. c. 66 8 10(c). The Town must provide responses to the requests in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. Ms. Kelly and Mr. Sheldon may appeal the substantive nature of the Town's responses within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Kelly Kelly Stephen J. Sheldon