Jasmine E. Parthasarathy v. Woburn, City of - City Clerk (SPR 20202568)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records January 8, 2021 SPR20/2568 Ellen Callahan Doucette, Esq. City Solicitor City of Woburn City Hall 10 Common Street Woburn, MA 01801 Dear Attorney Callahan Doucette: I have received the petition of Jasmine Eleftherakis Parthasarathy appealing the response of the City of Woburn (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, on December 11, 20202, Ms. Parthasarathy requested from the Woburn Public Library (Library): 1. A copy of the A/V presentation given by Patricia Jacques to members of the Library Trustees on August 26, 2020; 2. Any handouts or accompanying documentation provided by Ms. Jacques or any other [Library] employee in conjunction with the above presentation; and, 3. A copy of the document(s) Trustee William Callahan distributed to other participants at the conclusion of the above presentation. In a December 17, 2020 email response, City Solicitor Ellen Callahan Doucette informed Ms. Parthasarathy: 1. There is no AV presentation in the possession of the Archivist/Museum Curator. During the tour of the Archives, Ms. Jacques showed Trustees the Rag Rock Gallery and Front Porch photos which are available for view on the Library’s website; 2. There is no handout to produce. Ms. Jacques stated that she may have printed photos from the gallery to refer to and again, the Rag Rock Gallery and Front Porch photos are available for view on the Library’s website; and 3. Trustee Callahan stated that he did not distribute any documents at the end of the presentation. 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

Ellen Callahan Doucette, Esq. SPR20/2568 Page 2 January 8, 2021 As a result of the City’s response pertaining Request Number 3, Ms. Parthasarathy petitioned the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) and this appeal was opened. With her December 2020 petition for this appeal, Ms. Parthasarathy provided this office with a copy of the Library Security camera footage, as a Google Drive link, which was recorded on August 26, 2020 and Ms. Parthasarathy received through a previous public records request. In her December 22nd petition Ms. Parthasarathy states, “[a]t a timestamp of 17:52 Archivist Patricia Jacques begins the audiovisual presentation referenced in item #1 of my written request. The video footage clearly shows that Trustee William Callahan, seated near the door in a blue t-shirt, distributes one or more sheets of paper to the other participants at the conclusion of Ms. Jacques’ presentation: At a timestamp of 37:12 Trustee Callahan removes a stack of papers from his bag; he delivers the first of these documents at a timestamp of 37:50.” In light of Ms. Parthasarathy’s petition, I find it is unclear whether the City is in possession of the papers requested by Ms. Parthasarathy. The City must clarify this. I suggest that the parties communicate further with regard to the request. Conclusion Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Ms. Parthasarathy with a response to the request, in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations within 10 business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Jasmine Eleftherakis Parthasarathy