Elizabeth Warren v. Lexington DPW (SPR 20190474)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor ofR ecords March 6, 2019 SPR19/0474 Ms. Robin Vella Lexington Department of Public Works Samuel Hadley Public Services Building 201 Bedford Street Lexington, MA 02420 Dear Ms. Robin Vella: I have received the petition of Ms. Elizabeth Warren appealing the response of the Department of Public Works (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § lOA; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Ms. Warren requested various records related to "ongoing building activity at 11 and 15 Fulton Road and related correspondence." Having received what she considered an incomplete response, Ms. Warren petitioned this office. March 4, 2019 Response Subsequent to the intervention of a member of the Public Records Division, the Department provided a supplemental response to Ms. Warren dated March 4, 2019. The Division provided additional emails discussing projects at 11 and 15 Fulton Road. In response to Ms. Warren's questions, they indicated that a portion of the records she sought were in the custody of the Building Department, and that other records Ms. Warren requested did not exist. Under the Public Records Law, the Department is not required to create a record in response to a public records request. See G. L. c. 66, § 6A(d). The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian ofrecords at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § lO(a)(ii). Furthermore, custodians are expected to use their superior knowledge of the records in their custody to assist requesters in obtaining the desired information. See 950 C.M.R. 32.04(5). Accordingly, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Ms. Warren may appeal the substantive nature of the Department's response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). 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

Lexington Department of Public Works SPR19/0474 Page 2 March 6, 2019 Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Ms. Elizabeth Warren