Edward P. Sinni, Jr. v. Concord, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20210632)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records March 26, 2021 SPR21/0632 Kaari Mai Tari Town Clerk Town of Concord 22 Monument Square, P.O. Box 535 Concord, MA 01742 Dear Ms. Tari: I have received the petition of Edward P. Sinni, Jr. appealing the response of the Town of Concord (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On February 17, 2021, Mr. Sinni requested copies of records pertaining to a certain noise complaint. Previous Appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal based on the lack of a written response from the Town. See SPR21/0579 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (March 12, 2021). In my March 12th determination, I noted that the Town had provided Mr. Sinni with a written response. In its response, the Town indicated that it “do[es] not have any information requested, as [the Town] did not investigate the complaint.” Unsatisfied with the Town’s written response, Mr. Sinni appealed and this case, SPR21/0632, was opened as a result. Current Appeal In his appeal, Mr. Sinni states “[t]he Town of Concord Health executive . . . was misinformed regarding the subject Freedom of Information complaint.” He goes on to state, “[t]he complaint has not been addressed.” Records in Existence The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(ii). 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

Kaari Mai Tari SPR21/0632 Page 2 March 26, 2021 In an email to this office on March 26, 2021, the Town explained it “did not investigate Edward Sinnis’s noise complaint and therefore ha[s] no documents related to the complaint or investigation, other than several emails Mr. Sinni sent to [the Public Health Director] outlining his complaint.” Conclusion Where the Town never conducted an investigation, and therefore does not possess any records responsive to Mr. Sinni’s request, I will now consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Edward P. Sinni, Jr. Susan Rask, Director of Public Health