John Weingold v. Sandisfield, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20220510)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records March 8, 2022 SPR22/0510 Mary Kronholm Town Clerk Town of Sandisfield 66 Sandisfield Road Sandisfield, MA 01702 Dear Ms. Kronholm: I have received your petition on behalf of the Town of Sandisfield (Town) seeking an extension of time to produce records. 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. Id. On February 16, 2022, John Weingold, Esq. requested: 1. all Selectboard(SB) Executive session minutes and draft minutes for Selectboard hearing date 4/13/21; 2. all recordings of the SB 4/13/21 hearing: 3. all recordings of the SB meeting of 12/9/20 and any draft minutes of said meeting; 4. copies of "all evidence presented at the hearing" [on 4/13/21] and/or "evidence" considered by the SB; 5. all emails sent/received between[named persons] concerning the 4/13/21 hearing; 6. all emails/ texts between [named persons or named firm] law concerning the 4/13/21 hearing; 7. any documents that support an "undue burden on the Town of Sandisfield" that was created by [named person’s] absence: 8. any documents that support the town filling the Safety Officer position temporarily or permanently; 9. any documents that evidence what the "essential functions" of the Safety Officer position were in 2020; 10. all correspondence between/received by the Town and Cabot Risk Management concerning [named person] or his injury claim; 11. all medical evidence that [named person] could not perform the "essential functions of [his] position with or without accommodations;" 12. [named person’s] personnel file; 13. all emails/texts sent/received between [named persons], concerning [named person]; 14. copy of Roster for Sandisfield Ambulance Squad for 2020 and 2021; 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

Mary Kronholm SPR22/0510 Page 2 March 8, 2022 15. all emails/texts sent/received between[named persons], concerning [named person]; 16. all emails/texts sent/received between[named persons], concerning [named person]. 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. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. - The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) shall provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Current Petition In its March 2nd petition, the Town requested “…that it be granted an additional ten business days until Thursday, March 17, 2022 to provide a response and good faith estimate to Attorney Weingold’s request for records.” The Town states, “[t]he Town has requested an extension from Attorney Weingold on two separate occasions, but has not yet received a response. The Town anticipates that it will take substantial time to comply with this request, and is in need of additional time to provide a good faith estimate and comprehensive response to Attorney Weingold’s request.”

Mary Kronholm SPR22/0510 Page 3 March 8, 2022 Conclusion I find that in light of the potential scope of redactions as well as the volume of responsive records, the Town has established good cause to permit an extension of time. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iv). I hereby grant the Town an extension of 10 business days to furnish copies of records responsive to Attorney Weingold’s request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). To the extent possible, the Town must provide responsive records on a rolling basis. Please note, Attorney Weingold has the right to seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the appropriate superior court. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(4), 10A(c). Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: John Weingold, Esq. Joseph R. Duquette, Esq.