Karin Sutter v. Natick, Town of (SPR 20212388)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records September 29, 2021 SPR21/2388 Kathleen Lentini Records Access Officer Town of Natick 13 East Central Street Natick, MA 01760 Dear Ms. Lentini: I have received the petition of Karin Sutter appealing the response of the Town of Natick (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On December 31, 2020, Ms. Sutter requested “…to inspect all emails with the name Sutter in them between 1/01/2013 and 01/01/2020.” Previous Determinations The December 31st request was the subject of previous determinations by the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor). See SPR21/0320 Determinations of the Supervisor (February 23, 2021 and June 15, 2021). In my February 23rd determination, I found that it was unclear if the Town complied with G. L. c. 66, § 10(e). I ordered the Town to provide a response to the request, in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations, within 10 business days. Whereas Ms. Sutter informed this office that she had yet to receive a response from the Town after my February 23rd order, I ordered the Town for a second time that it must provide Ms. Sutter with a response consistent with both the February 23rd and the June 15th order within 5 business days. The Town’s July 7, 2021 Response In its July 7th response to the previous appeal, SPR21/0320, the Town’s Legal Counsel, Karis North of Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP, stated “[p]lease see attached previous correspondence where you requested the same information. In that instance, the Town responded promptly, with a fee estimate, and a request for clarification…No further correspondence was received, until the 2021 request.” 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

Kathleen Lentini SPR21/2388 Page 2 September 29, 2021 Attached to the response and in forthcoming responses via email, the Town provided a hundred-plus responsive documents to a new request for “all emails with the name Karin Sutter from March 1, 2019-December 31, 2019.” The Town also indicated that it would provide a privilege log for any emails withheld under the attorney-client privilege. Current Appeal In Ms. Sutter’s September 16th petition, she objects to the Town’s July 7th response regarding a request she made in 2019. She requests that the Supervisor review this appeal and order the Town to provide her with the responsive emails from her 2019 request free of cost or delay. I note that on February 21, 2019, Ms. Sutter requested “all emails with the word Sutter [in] the subject or body from 2009 to present.” In my October 22, 2019 determination, I found that based on the Town’s June 7, 2019 response and fee estimate, coupled with Ms. Sutter’s petition, it was unclear when Ms. Sutter amended her public records request and whether she intended the amended request to be deemed as a new request. I concluded that Ms. Sutter must clarify these matters. It is my understanding that Ms. Sutter did not do so. See SPR19/2055 Determination of the Supervisor (October 22, 2019). Ms. Sutter is reminded that an appeal to this office must be filed within ninety calendar days of the date of the request letter, or within ninety calendar days of the date of a written response from the record custodian. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1)(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1)(e). Conclusion Whereas, the Town provided a response including records for her most recent request, I will consider this appeal closed. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: Karin Sutter