David D. Fitzgerald v. Kingston, Town of - Town Administrator (SPR 20181641)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records November 20, 2018 SPRlS/1641 Thomas J. Kalter, III. Town Administrator Town of Kingston 26 Evergreen Street Kingston, MA 02364 Dear Mr. Kalter: I have received the petition of David Fitzgerald appealing the response of the Town of Kingston (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Mr. Fitzgerald requested records related to meetings of the Board of Registers and the Board of Selectmen. The Town provided certain responsive open session minutes on October 4, 2018. Unsatisfied with the Town's response, Mr. Fitzgerald appealed. Appeal In his appeal petition Mr. Fitzgerald indicates that a member of the Board of Registers received a request on October 13, 2018 but has yet to respond to it. He also notes that the "Town Clerk received my request Sept.14, 2018 [a nd] to this day I have not received anything." However, based on the documents submitted with the appeal, it is unclear to which requests Mr. Fitzgerald is referring. Mr. Fitzgerald may wish to clarify this matter. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1)(£) (petitions shall specifically describe the nature of the requestor's objections to the response or failure to timely respond). Open Meeting Law Mr. Fitzgerald is also requesting that this office " ... look in to what I believe are violations State law at the Board of Selectmen's meeting on Aug. 28, 2018." In addition, Mr. Fitzgerald references an executive session and provides a copy of a letter sent to the Office of the Attorney General regarding alleged violations of law at the Board of Selectmen' s August 28, 2018 meeting. Mr. Fitzgerald is advised that the interpretation of the Open Meeting Law falls within the 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

Thomas J. Kalter, III. SPR18/1641 Page 2 November 20, 2018 authority of the AGO and not this office. Whereas the issues raised in Mr. Fitzgerald's appeal pertain to the disclosure of meeting minutes, and in light of the letter he sent to the AGO, I decline to provide a determination as to the public status of responsive records at this time. See G. L. c. 30A, § 23. It is recommended that Mr. Fitzgerald contact the Division of Open Government within the AGO for a determination on this issue. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: David Fitzgerald