Cindy L. Christiansen, PhD v. Milton, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20230053)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records January 20, 2023 SPR23/0053 Susan M. Galvin Town Clerk Town of Lexington 525 Canton Avenue Milton, MA 02186 Dear Ms. Galvin: I have received the petition of Cindy L. Christiansen, PhD. appealing the response of the Town of Milton (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On December 8, 2022, Dr. Christiansen requested copies of the following records: The Administrative Record of 19,163 pages of documents, plus additional un- paginated Environmental Modeling data that is referred in Item #2, [P]age 1, of the Petitioner’s Motion for Extension filed on 10/19/22 for: Case No. 22-1521, Town of Milton v. FAA, (United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit). On December 8, 2022, the Town acknowledged Dr. Christiansen’s request, and informed her that the request will be forwarded to the relevant departments in the Town to locate the information, and determine the volume and costs associated with complying with the request. In a December 20, 2022 response, the Town’s Legal Counsel, Kevin S. Freytag, of Murphy Hesse Toomey & Lehane, LLP, informed Dr. Christiansen, “[m]y office is in possession of the record that is responsive to your request. It will be produced within ten (10) business day[s]. Given the size of the record that you have requested, the Town may be able to use GovQA to provide the file. My office will provide an update regarding this issue soon.” On January 10, 2023 after not receiving the records, Dr. Christiansen emailed the Town, and petitioned the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor), and this appeal was opened. The Public Records Law The Public Records Law strongly favors disclosure by creating a presumption that all 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

Susan M. Galvin SPR23/0053 Page 2 January 20, 2023 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) (written response must “identify any records, categories of records or portions of records that the agency or municipality intends to withhold, and provide the specific reasons for such withholding, including the specific exemption or exemptions upon which the withholding is based…”); 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). Production of Responsive Records In a January 12, 2023 email correspondence, Attorney Freytag on behalf of the Town, provided Dr. Christiansen with a web-link to Sections 1-4 of the responsive records. Attorney Freytag indicated on January 19, 2023, that the Town intends to provide records responsive to Section 5 of the request as soon as they are received. Please note, records must be provided without unreasonable delay. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a). Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Dr. Christiansen with said response 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: Dr. Cindy L. Christiansen Kevin S. Freytag, Esq., Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehane, LLP