HW Public Records v. Wenham, Town of (SPR 20221318)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records June 21, 2022 SPR22/1318 Trudy Reid, Town Clerk Town of Wenham Town Hall 138 Main Street Wenham, MA 01984 Dear Ms. Reid: I have received the petition of HW Public Records appealing the response of the Town of Wenham (Town) to a request for public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Specifically, HW Public Records requested a copy of the death certificate of an identified person. In a June 6, 2022 response, the Town requested a mailing address to provide the certified copy of the record. On June 6th, HW Public Records appealed the Town’s response which asked for a mailing address. HW Public Records informed this office that the request is made anonymously, and asks that the Town allow a courier to pick-up the copy of the death certificate. In a telephone conversation on June 21st, the Town informed an attorney on my staff that the requested death certificate is prepared and read for pick-up in the Town Clerk’s Office by HW Public Records’ courier. Accordingly, where the Town is providing the responsive record, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, Rebecca S. Murray Supervisor of Records cc: HW Public Records 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