Jason Kubert v. Buckland, Town of - Office of the Town Clerk (SPR 20210587)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records March 24, 2021 SPR21/0587 Heather Butler Town Administrator Town of Buckland 17 State Street Shelburne Falls, MA 01370 Dear Town Administrator Butler: I have received the petition of Jason Kubert, of the Central/Western MA Carpenters Union, Local 336, appealing the response of the Town of Buckland (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On February 1, 2021, Mr. Kubert requested records regarding the Town’s new highway garage, specifically: 1. Copy of all certified payroll reports that you are in possession of from Westfield Construction, Taylor Davis Landscaping, Valley Concrete, Building Erectors, and any other contractor performing any type of concrete work; 2. Copy of the prevailing wage rate schedule for the project; 3. Copy of all clerk of the works daily logs from City [P]oint [P]artners, including pictures of work being performed. Mr. Kubert informs this office that he has received certain of the requested records as of March 3, 2021; however, he has not received the prevailing wage rate schedule. It is also unclear whether Mr. Kubert was provided all the daily log reports on this project. As a result of not receiving the prevailing wage rate schedule for the New Highway Garage Project in the Town, Mr. Kubert petitioned the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor), and this appeal was opened. In its responses to Mr. Kubert, the Town has indicated that it is not in possession of the prevailing wage schedule for the Town’s new highway garage project; however, it is unclear whether this record exists, and may be in the possession of the project manager or the construction company. The Town must clarify this. 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

Heather Butler, Town Adm. SPR21/0587 Page 2 March 24, 2021 The Public Records Law requires a record custodian to take steps to acquire those records of which he/she is entitled to and which are not in his possession. See G. L. c. 66, § 13 (whoever is entitled to the custody of public records shall demand the same from person having possession of them). Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Kubert with a response, 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: Jason Kubert, Central/Western MA Carpenters Union, Local 336