Christopher Donovan v. Norwood, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20181404)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords October 4, 2018 SPRlS/1404 Mary Lou Folan Town of Norwood - Town Clerk 566 Washington Street, Room 27 P.O. Box40 Norwood, MA 02062 Dear Ms. Folan: I have received the petition of Christopher Donovan appealing the response of the Town of Norwood (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on April 30, 2018, Mr. Donovan requested nine categories ofrecords concerning the Norwood Airport Commission's executive session minutes. In a letter to this office dated September 18, 2018, Mr. Donovan states, "the original request for records was submitted on December 28, 2017 with a follow on Public records request on April 20, 2018 for other meeting minutes." Previous Appeals Mr. Donovan's December 28, 2017 request was the subject of previous appeals. See SPR18/222 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (March 6, 2018); SPR18/402 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (April 10, 2018); SPR18/599 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (May 14, 2018); SPR18/830 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (June 22, 2018). In SPR18/830 I ordered the Town to provide Mr. Donovan a supplemental response to his request, provided in a manner consistent with the order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations within ten business days. It is my understanding that the Town provided Mr. Donovan a response on July 18, 2018 and a follow-up response on August 1, 2018. Current Appeal On June 6, 2018, Attomey'Karis L. North, of Murphy, Hesse, Toomey, & Lehane LLP, provided Mr. Donovan records responsive to his April 20th request for records on behalf of the Town. 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

Mary Lou Folan SPR18/1404 Page2 October 4, 2018 Public Records Law The nature of Mr. Donovan's petition under the Public Records Law is unclear. All petitions for appeal shall be in writing and shall specifically describe the nature of the requestor's objections to the response or failure to provide a timely response. 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). It is unclear if Mr. Donovan is appealing the Town's June 6th response to his request for nine categories of records concerning the Norwood Airport Commission or if Mr. Donovan is appealing the Town's August 1st response to his request for records concerning the Norwood Airport Commission meeting minutes for calendar years 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2013. Open Meeting Law It is also important to note that it appears Mr. Donovan's appeal is related to the release of executive session minutes and posting of public notices which raises issues that potentially invoke the Open Meeting Law. Given that an interpretation of the Open Meeting Law falls within the authority of the Office of the Attorney General (AGO), I decline to provide a determination as to the content of the executive session minutes. See G. L. c. 30A, § 23. It is recommended that you contact the AGO should you seek a determination on this issue. Conclusion Mr. Donovan may submit his appeal upon providing a clarification of the nature of his appeal within ten business days. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of the appeal to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, ~~ Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Christopher Donovan Karis L. North, Esq.