Shauni Lynch v. Marion, Town of (SPR 20191318)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records July 3, 2019 SPR19/1318 Lisa Magauran Town of Marion 2 Spring St. Marion, MA 02738 Dear Lisa Magauran: I have received your petition on behalf of the Town of Marion (Town) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § lO(c). As required by law, it is my understanding that the Town furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor. Id. In this matter, Shauni Lynch of Greenbaum, Nagel, Fisher & Paliotti,LLP requested "[a]ny and all records, documents, and rep01is from the Town of Marion Board of Health regarding 9 Pleasant Street, Marion, MA between the dates of August 1, 2003 to present time." Petition 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 unde1iaken 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, § lO(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

Elizabeth Magauran SPR19/1318 Page 2 July 3, 2019 In its petition, the Town states it seeks an exention of time. Specifically, the Town requests "until July 10, 2019 to furnish copies ofrecords responsive to a public records request made by Shauni Lynch of Greenbaum, Nagel, Fisher & Paliotti, LLP, dated June 17, 2019." The Town explains it "will need additional time to locate records covering a 16 year period as the employee to check the records was on vacation until June 24, 2019 and also for Town Counsel to review to determine whether they can be disclosed. The Town believes this constitutes 'good cause' for the requested extension under 950 CMR 32.06(4)(e). This request is made in good faith and not to impede the Requestor's access to the requested materials." In light of the Town's June 2i11 petition, I find it is unnecessary to opine on the Town's extension request because it intends to provide responsive records within twenty five (25) business days of the receipt of the request as allowed in G. L. c. 66 § lO(b)(vi). The Town is advised it must seek another petition for extension if it cannot provide responsive records within twenty five (25) business days of the receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66 § lO(c). Conclusion For the reasons discussed above, I find it is unnecessary to opine on the Town's extension request because it intends to provide responsive records within twenty five (25) business days of the receipt of the request as allowed in G. L. c. 66 § lO(b)(vi). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Shauni Lynch