Dalton Mott v. Bedford, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20171534)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords October 27, 2017 SPR17/1534 Doreen Tremblay Town Clerk Records Access Officer 10 Mudge Way Bedford, MA 01730 Dear Ms. Tremblay: I have received your petition on behalf of the Town of Bedford (Town) seeking relief from its obligation to produce public records. 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, in a request dated October 19,2017, Dalton Mott, Esq. requested records related to an identified report pertaining to a remedial investigation. 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. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). 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

Doreen Tremblay SPR17/1534 Page 2 October 27, 2017 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 October 20,2017 you explain the Town "is requesting relief from a public records request that will create a hardship on staff and resources." You assert that Attorney Mott "is looking for all reports and settlements between the Town of Bedford and the Federal and State government on contamination on Elm brook Well Field the 'Superfund' site" and that"[o ]ne report alone is 1700 pages and there are 21 plans to be copied." I find the Town has not met its burden to show that this request was frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, nor established that the request was not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity as required to relieve the Town of its obligation to produce the records sought. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). Conclusion Accordingly, I decline to grant the Town's petition for relief from its obligation to produce responsive records. The Town is advised it must provide a response to Attorney Mott in a manner consistent with this determination, the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. See G.L. c. 66, § 10(b). Attorney Mott may appeal the substantive nature ofthe Town's response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Dalton Mott, Esq.