Daniel Larkosh v. Oak Bluffs, Town of - Town Administrator (SPR 20212202)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records September 3, 2021 SPR21/2202 Ms. Wendy Brough Town of Oak Bluffs Town Administrator P.O. Box 1327 56 School Street Oak Bluffs, MA 02557 Dear Ms. Brough: I have received your petition on behalf of the Town of Oak Bluffs Town Administrator (Town) seeking an extension of time to produce records in response to a public records request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). As required by law, it is my understanding that the Town furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor, Attorney Daniel Larkosh. Id. In a letter dated August 18, 2021, Attorney Larkosh requested “all communications between the Parks Department and the Police Department concerning his client, a juvenile, who was served a no trespass order on the Town controlled skate board park.” Petition for an Extension of Time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. 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

Ms. Wendy Brough SPR21/2202 Page 2 September 3, 2021 G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). Current Petition The August 27, 2021 petition states that the Town “is seeking a thirty (30) day extension so that it can get advice from its assigned employment counsel on whether the requested records are exempt or discoverable.” The Town explains, “[t]he records at issue all discuss minors, including Attorney Larkosh’s client, [and] were never published to the community or the full Parks Commission, and contain details that may well invade the privacy interests of the parties involved.” Therefore, the Town states that the extension of time is necessary “in order to obtain legal advice on these questions.” The Town “has requested its insurance carrier to provide a defense,” but that “[c]ounsel has yet to be assigned.” Conclusion I find that the Town has not met its burden to establish good cause to permit an extension of time. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iv). Therefore, I am unable to grant additional time. Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Attorney Larkosh 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: Attorney Daniel Larkosh