Stanley Mazurczyk v. Chelmsford, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20210819)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records April 13, 2021 SPR21/0819 Lynn McDonough Town of Chelmsford Department of Public Works - Highway Division 9 Alpha Road Chelmsford, MA 01824 Dear Ms. McDonough: I have received the petition of Stanley Mazurczyk appealing the response of the Chelmsford Department of Public Works (Department) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On January 7, 2021, Mr. Mazurczyk requested “a copy of the road work schedule for each year (2018, 2019 and 2020) clearly identifying work…” Mr. Mazurczyk requested these records regarding an identified property in the Town. Prior appeal The requested records were the subject of a prior appeal. See SPR21/0363 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) (February 19, 2021). In my February 19th determination, I ordered the Department to provide Mr. Mazurczyk with a response within ten business days. On February 25, 2021, the Department provided a response, including responsive records. Subsequently, on February 28, 2021, Mr. Mazurczyk sent an email to the Department questioning the February 25th response and requesting that the Department: 1. Confirm [an identified individual] authored and signed that letter; 2. Provide dated records of his inspection of [the identified property]; 3. Provide dated records, work order, for crew he sent to repair bad patch by the walkway; and 4. Provide dated records of communications he had with [an identified person] informing him that the berm would not be repaired or replaced. In a March 2nd letter, the Department confirmed that the February 25th letter is authentic and indicated that it has “. . . sent [] the requested documents for roadwork done on Aberdeen 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

Lynn McDonough SPR21/0819 Page 2 April 13, 2021 during the dates you requested, we do not keep a daily log or times of all issues that I respond to, I typically research issues, before any documentation take place if we proceed with any work…Therefore, I do not record every address that we do small hot top repairs on or other small tasks that only take about 15 to 20 minutes to complete. There are no official records of the work repaired at [the identified address].” Under the Public Records Law, 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). The Department is not required to create a record in response to a public records request. In addition, a public employee is not required to answer questions, or do research, or create documents in response to questions. See G. L. c. 4, § 7(26); 32 Op. Att’y Gen. 157, 165 (May 18, 1977). Where the Department indicates that it does not possess responsive records of the work repaired at the identified address, I find that Mr. Mazurczyk’s appeal regarding this portion of the request is resolved. On March 31, 2021, Mr. Mazurczyk petitioned the Supervisor stating that he did not receive any requested documents for roadwork done on Aberdeen Road. He states that he only received schedules, but none of the Berm/Repairs records support the Department’s assertion that it provided those records of roadwork done on that road. Based on Mr. Mazurczyk’s claim, I find the Department must clarify whether it possesses additional documents of roadwork done on Aberdeen Road. Conclusion Accordingly, the Department is ordered to provide Mr. Mazurczyk 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: Stanley Mazurczyk