Steven R. Drury v. Templeton Municipal Light and Water Plant (SPR 20222288)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records October 21, 2022 SPR22/2288 John Driscoll General Manager Templeton Municipal Light & Water Plant 86 Bridge Street P.O. Box 20 Baldwinville, MA 01436-0020 Dear Mr. Driscoll: I have received the petition of Steven Drury appealing the response of the Templeton Municipal Light & Water Plant (Light & Water Plant) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On August 11, 2022, Mr. Drury sent a request to the Town of Templeton (Town) and the same request to the Light and Water Plant. Mr. Drury requested eight categories of records related to Bond documents required by law for the Light and Water Plant, including information on the Bond company; Commissioners’ Annual Report from 2014; Signature documents for public notice of acceptance required by law; Meter owner manual; Dems number; ADA policy; contractual agreement related to the non-AMI electric meter at 18 Drury Lane; and, documents that created easements through private property. On August 22, 2022, the Town provided Mr. Drury with an electronic link to his request for the Water and Light Plant’s 2014 Annual Report. The Town informed Mr. Drury that the other 7 categories of records in his request letter would be in the possession of the Light and Water Plant. Prior Appeal The requested records were the subject of a prior appeal. See SPR22/2050 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) (September 21, 2022). On September 7, 2022, Mr. Drury petitioned the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) pertaining to a non-response from the Light and Water Plant to his August 11th request for the same records he requested from the Town. As a result, the prior appeal, SPR22/2050, was opened. The Light and Water Plant provided Mr. Drury with a further response on September 8, 2022. As a result of the September 8th response, on September 21, 2022, I closed the prior appeal, SPR22/2050. Unsatisfied with the response, Mr. Drury petitioned the Supervisor, and this appeal, SPR22/2288, was opened. 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

John Driscoll SPR22/2288 Page 2 October 21, 2022 The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all governmental records are public records. G. L. c. 66, § 10A(d); 950 C.M.R. 32.03(4). “Public records” is broadly defined to include all documentary materials or data, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by any officer or employee of any agency or municipality of the Commonwealth, unless falling within a statutory exemption. G. L. c. 4, § 7(26). It is the burden of the records custodian to demonstrate the application of an exemption in order to withhold a requested record. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv); 950 C.M.R. 32.06(3); see also Dist. Attorney for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of establishing the applicability of an exemption). To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(viii); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.07(2). Once fees are paid, a records custodian must provide the responsive records. Current appeal In his October 10th petition, Mr. Drury indicates the records and/or information that he asserts has not been received regarding his August 11th request to the Light and Water Plant. The following are the requested records and/or information that Mr. Drury still seeks:  The bond documents regarding all managers from the Light and Water Plant, including the bond company name and address; bond; agent’s name; amount of the bond, and the names of the personnel at the Light and Water Plant covered by the bond for 2020, 2021 and 2022;  The user manual for the specific AMI meter placed on his house at 18 Drury Lane; and  The DUNS number from Dun & Bradstreet for the Light and Water Plant. Additional Records While the Light and Water Plant responded to Mr. Drury’s request on September 8th, it is unclear whether the Light and Water Plant is in possession of additional records responsive to Mr. Drury’s request, including the records that Mr. Drury mentions in his October 10th petition, and that are referenced above in this determination. The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(ii). In accordance with the Public Records Law, custodians are expected to use their superior knowledge of the records in their custody to assist requestors in obtaining the desired information. See 950 C.M.R. 32.04(5).

John Driscoll SPR22/2288 Page 3 October 21, 2022 I find that the Light and Water Plant must provide a response to clarify whether it has additional records in its possession that are responsive to the request. Reasonable Description of Records Sought In Mr. Drury’s October 10th petition to the Supervisor, he asserts, “[t]he registry records provide acts which were commence by [the Light and Water Plant] commissioner as signing for and recording acceptance to [use] this law MGL 164, sec. 58 that acceptance file notice was issue in 2014.” Based on the petition, it is unclear what Mr. Drury is specifically requesting. In addition, Mr. Drury asserts regarding an Americans with Disabilities Act, “[t]he [Light and Water Plant] must comply with ADA law as to rate payer and shall cause [accommodation] for issue listed under the ADA. The [Light and Water Plant] now must comply as they have taken federal funding for rate payers.” With reference to the August 2022 request [number 6], the Light and Water Plant provided Mr. Drury with ADA compliant information as to the Light and Water Plant building. As such, I find it is uncertain what Mr. Drury is specifically requesting. Mr. Drury is advised, a request for records must reasonably describe the records sought. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(i). In Chawla, the Superior court found that under the Public Records Law “[t]he reasonable description requirement contemplates that a requesting party will identify documents or categories of documents with sufficient particularity that government employees will be able to understand exactly what they are looking for, and then make a prompt production.” See Jaideep Chawla v. Dept of Revenue, Suffolk. Sup. No. 1784CV02087, at 2 (January 23, 2019). The court further indicated “[r]equests for documents that are articulated with very broad language that calls upon non-lawyer administrative personnel to interpret the scope of what is sought, and then make fine judgments about what documents are and are not sufficiently ‘related’ to the category of materials requested, will not satisfy this statutory standard.” Id. In this case, Mr. Drury has not in his request, nor his petitions to the Supervisor, provided sufficient particularity required to identify the documents he is seeking relative to the two requests listed above. Therefore, this office encourages Mr. Drury and the Light and Water Plant to continue communicating to facilitate providing any additional records in the Light and Water Plant’s possession. Certified, signed and sworn responses to Public Records Law requests In his October 10th petition to the Supervisor regarding the responses to his requests pertaining to the non-AMI electric meter at his home, Mr. Drury asserts, “…answer however no signature to these answer? we object as to matter of truth that it be sign sworn to include due process of law as matter of statement…” Mr. Drury also requested documents that “created easements allowance for two way wireless communication enabling low level radiation ELF/RF waves beam technology though all

John Driscoll SPR22/2288 Page 4 October 21, 2022 private properties by direct smart meters.” The Light and Water Plant responded, “[t]he AMI communication that we are utilizing does not.” In his October 10th petition to the Supervisor, Mr. Drury asserts, “[t]his question is answer but not sign: We object no signature as a matter of truth sign and sworn.” Mr. Drury is advised, under the Public Records Law there is no such requirement. Nor, does the Supervisor have any authority to require that a records custodian do so. Conclusion Accordingly, the Light and Water Plant is ordered to provide Mr. Drury with a response to his request in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law, and its Regulations within ten (10) business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of the response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Steven Drury