Cindy L. Christiansen, PhD v. Milton, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20201999)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records October 29, 2020 SPR20/1999 Susan M. Galvin Town Clerk Town of Milton 525 Canton Avenue Milton, MA 02186 Dear Ms. Galvin: I have received the petition of Cindy L. Christiansen appealing the response of the Town of Milton (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on May 15, 2020, Dr. Christiansen requested “any records between town administration personnel or the select board and Dr. Erica Walker of Harvard and Boston Universities. [sic] during calendar year 2019…” Previous Appeal The requested records were the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR20/1396 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (August 28, 2020). In my August 28th determination I found the Town did not meet its burden of specificity in why the indicated amount of time is necessary for producing the requested records. The Town was ordered to provide Dr. Christiansen with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with the order, the Public Records Law, and its Regulations. The Town provided said response to Dr. Christiansen on September 10, 2020. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Dr. Christiansen petitioned this office and SPR20/1999 was opened as a result. Modification of the scope of the request Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, Dr. Christiansen emailed this office indicating her willingness to narrow the scope of her request. In her October 19, 2020 email, Dr. Christiansen states “[i]nstead of records from the calendar year 2019, we can reduce that to May 1, 2019 through 12/31/2019…” This office encourages Dr. Christiansen and the Town to continue to communicate to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. Any fee 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

Susan M. Galvin SPR20/1999 Page 2 October 29, 2020 estimate by the Town must be in compliance with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. In light of Dr. Christiansen’s intention to narrow the scope of her request, I find it unnecessary to opine on the Town’s September 10th response at this time. Accordingly, I consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Cindy L. Christiansen