Stephen J. Morgan v. Ashland, Town of - Public Schools (SPR 20171374)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords October 2, 2017 SPR17/1374 Katherine Feodoroff, Town Counsel Town of Ashland 101 Main Street, 1st Floor Ashland, MA 01721 Dear Attorney Feodoroff: I have received your petition on behalf of the Town of Ashland (Town) seeking an extension oftime to furnish copies of requested records, or any portion thereof. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). The Town is advised that as required by law, a custodian must furnish a copy of this petition to the requester. G. L. c. 66, § 10 ( c). Specifically, requestor sought production of "minutes of the town forest committee meetings in 2017." Please note this request is also the subject of an appeal filed with this office on September 27, 2017. See SPR17/1364 Determination ofthe Supervisor of Records (October 2, 2017). 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; . · (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. 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

Town of Ashland SPR17/1374 Page 2 October 2, 2017 G. L. c. 66 § 10(c). 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. Id. The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 CMR 36.06( 4)(b ). Current petition In your petition dated September 28, 2017, you indicate the Town is asking for "an extension oftwenty-five (25) days" to provide responsive records. I understand on September 29th a Public Records Division staff member contacted the Town and it has indicated responsive records would be provided to the requestor within 25 days from receipt of his request. Conclusion In light of the Town's ability to respond to the request within the statutory timeframe, I will not opine on the Town's petition for an extension of time to furnish responsive records. See G. L. c. 66 § 10(b)(vi). The Town is advised that it must submit another petition for an extension of time if it cannot provide responsive records within 25 business days of the receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66 § 10(c). The requestor may appeal the substantive nature of the Town's response within 90 days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, ~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Stephen Morgan Tara Ward