Elizabeth Garthe v. Marblehead, Town of (SPR 20202404)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records December 16, 2020 SPR20/2404 Kyle Wiley Records Access Officer Town of Marblehead 188 Washington Street Abbot Hall Marblehead, MA 01945 Dear Ms. Wiley: I have received the petition of Elizabeth Garthe appealing the response of the Town of Marblehead (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, Ms. Garthe requested 3 categories of records “related to Building 21 at GLCT [Glover Landing Condominium Trust]: 1. “Excerpts from the Town of Marblehead Building Commissioner's Schedule Book showing the dates and times of all meetings between of the Building Commissioner and GLCT, including site visits to GLCT. 2. All materials exchanged between the Town of Marblehead Building Department and GLCT. 3. Mr. Costa (Town Counsel) wrote: ‘Rich and I discussed sending another letter to the Governors if these plans are not received by week’s end.’ We request all emails or letters drafted to or sent to GLCT by Town Counsel….” The Town responded on December 1, 2020, providing responsive records. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Ms. Garthe petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR20/2404, was opened as a result. Current Appeal In her appeal petition, Ms. Garthe asserts that the Town possesses additional responsive records, stating that “[o]nly two documents of many that we know exist were provided by the Town.” Ms. Garthe further states: “[t]o make it easier for the Town to comply we are therefore simplifying our request as below so that the Town can comply by simply extracting transactions from their email server…” specifically requesting “all emails (and their associated attachments) 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

Kyle Wiley SPR20/2404 Page 2 December 16, 2020 sent from, or received by, the email addresses baldaccir@marblehead.org and scottr@marblehead.org (the emails of the Marblehead Building Commissioner and his replacement) for the period August 21, 2019 thru today, December 3, 2020.” In light of Ms. Garthe’s modified request, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. The Town must provide a response to the modified request within 10 business days. Such response must be made in compliance with the Public Records Law and its Access Regulations. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. Ms. Garthe may appeal the substantive nature of the Town’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Elizabeth Garthe