Gerrit Blauvelt v. North Adams, City of - City Administrator (SPR 20211639)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records July 15, 2021 SPR21/1639 Angie Lopes Ellison City Administrator City of North Adams 10 Main Street North Adams, MA 01247 Dear Ms. Ellison: I have received the petition of Gerrit Blauvelt appealing the response of the City of North Adams (City) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On May 13, 2021, Mr. Blauvelt requested the following records: The workbook provided to Planning Advisory Committee (PAC) members prior to the meeting held on June 4, 2019 … This request is in addition to the request made on Thursday, May 13, 2021 of the following materials: 1. The North Adams Airport Master Plan draft that was created through the work of a committee that met last year. 2. A list of the members and chair of the body that recently met to discuss the airport master plan. 3. Any agendas, meeting notices, notes, or meeting minutes for the body that met to discuss the airport master plan. 3. Information related to the annual landing fees paid to the North Adams airport from 1999-2021. 4. Any airport landing fee agreements that were in effect from 1999-2021, especially agreements discussing landing fees that involved TeamFlys and Turboprop East. It is my understanding that these agreements could have been made prior to 1999. The request was then modified by Mr. Blauvelt on May 18, 2021. Previous appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR21/1444 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (June 18, 2021). The City responded on June 30, 2021. Unsatisfied with 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

Angie Lopes Ellison SPR21/1639 Page 2 July 15, 2021 the response, Mr. Blauvelt petitioned the Supervisor of Records, and SPR21/1639 was opened as a result. Fee Estimates A municipality may assess a reasonable fee for the production of a public record except those records that are freely available for public inspection. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). The fees must reflect the actual cost of complying with a particular request. Id. A maximum fee of five cents ($.05) per page may be assessed for a black and white single or double-sided photocopy of a public record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(i). Municipalities may not assess a fee for the first two hours of employee time to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce the record or records requested unless the municipality has 20,000 people or less. G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii). Where appropriate, municipalities may include as part of the fee an hourly rate equal to or less than the hourly rate attributed to the lowest paid employee who has the necessary skill required to search for, compile, segregate, redact or reproduce a record requested, but the fee shall not be more than $25 per hour. Id. However, municipalities may charge more than $25 per hour if such rate is approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). A fee shall not be assessed for time spent segregating or redacting records unless such segregation or redaction is required by law or approved by the Supervisor of Records under a petition under G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv). See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iii); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). Petitions relating to fees must be submitted to the Supervisor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(g). The City’s June 30th Fee Estimate response In its June 30th response, the City stated, “Mr. Blauvelt’s original request of May 13, 2021 was modified on May 18, 2021 asking for additional information.” The City assessed a fee of $125.00 and stated, “[i]n order to meet Mr. Blauvelt’s modified request, a response was issued on May 28, 2021. The amount assessed for twenty-two years of records was based on an anticipated 5 minutes per record search and processing; The Commission met once a month on average, with a total of 12 per year. Each year would be an hour’s search. The total cost would have been well over $550 but we only charged $125 to make it reasonable.” The City's fee estimate has not explained with specificity why the indicated amount of time is necessary for producing the requested records. The City has not provided sufficient explanation to explain why $125.00 is in conformity with G. L. c. 66, §10(d). The City must clarify how much time is needed to search, how much time is needed to segregate and redact under the law and must explain what tasks are necessary to provide the records. Further, the City's fee estimate lacks confirmation that the rate of $25 per hour is of the lowest paid employee who is capable of performing the task(s).

Angie Lopes Ellison SPR21/1639 Page 3 July 15, 2021 For the reasons discussed above and upon review of the City June 30th response, I find City’s response to Mr. Blauvelt’s May 18th modified request was timely and the City is permitted to charge a fee. However, the City must revise its fee estimate or provide further explanation of how the fee assessed in its June 30th estimate is consistent with G. L. c. 66, § 10(d). Conclusion Accordingly, the City is ordered to provide Mr. Blauvelt with a response to the request, provided 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: Gerrit Blauvelt