Greg Rowehl v. Charlemont, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20230337)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 7, 2023 SPR23/0337 Kathy Reynolds Town Clerk Town of Charlemont 157 Main Street Charlemont, MA 01339 Dear Ms. Reynolds: I have received the petition of Gregory Rowehl appealing the response of the Town of Charlemont (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On February 3, 2023, Mr. Rowehl requested: [1] The two Conservation Commission Enforcement orders referred to in the Draft Minutes for the Joint Public Meeting attached to this email. [2] Any and all correspondence regarding these enforcement orders & the issue regarding said Enforcement Orders. [3] Minutes of all meetings discussing the issue regarding said Enforcement Orders including but not limited to Select Board, Planning Board, Board of Health & Conservation Commission. [4] Minutes of the Board of Health meeting February 2, 2023 & copy of all documents discussed. [5] Any & all correspondence from MA DEP regarding the Violation assertions at 180 Rt. 8A North. On February 16, 2023, the Town provided a response, informing Mr. Rowehl, “[t]he items from your request…have been gathered, complied and reproduced and placed in a manila envelope packet. As I shall not be in the office the week of February 20th, the packet will be left with the Town Administrator Sarah Reynolds. Office hours are 8:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Monday through Thursday. Also, included in the packet are the items in your requests of 2-10-23 at 2:47 P.M., 2-10-23 at 6:33 P.M. and 2-13-23 at 8:51 P.M.” In addition, the Town informed Mr. Rowehl, “[t]he packet of receipts that were received by the Conservation Commission during their February 9, 2023 meeting have been forwarded to our Town Attorney to determine if these documents may be distributed to the public. We will inform you of the determination once the Town Attorney has sent us his opinion.” 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

Kathy Reynolds SPR23/0337 Page 2 March 7, 2023 As a result of the Town’s February 16th response regarding withholding certain receipts until advised by the Town’s Legal Counsel, Mr. Rowehl petitioned this Office, and this appeal was opened. 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) (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). 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. Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, I learned that the Town provided a further response to Mr. Rowehl on February 27, 2023, with a copy of the response to this Office. In addition, the Town also provide the outstanding receipts. Conclusion Accordingly, where the Town has provided all the records responsive to Mr. Rowehl’s February 3, 2023 request, I will consider this administrative appeal closed. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Greg Rowehl