Paul Waple v. Swansea, Town of - Town Administrator (SPR 20242582)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records September 27, 2024 SPR24/2582 Mallory E. Aronstein Town Administrator Town of Swansea 81 Main Street Swansea, MA 02777 Dear Ms. Aronstein: I have received the petition of Paul Waple appealing the response of the Town of Swansea (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On August 30, 2024, Mr. Waple requested “[c]opies of all Financials and internal and external communications pertaining to the purchase of and development of Medeiros Farm. I am requesting that the information requested herein be sent digitally in pdf format.” On September 3, 2024, Mr. Waple narrowed the request and stated, “[l]ets start with the financial documents and internal and external communications from January 1, 2023 to present.” On September 12, 2024 and September 13, 2024, the Town responded. Unsatisfied with the Town’s responses, Mr. Waple petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR24/2582, was opened as a result. Prior Petition This request was the subject of a previous petition from the Town. See SPR24/2590 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (September 20, 2024). In my September 20th determination, I found the Town may assess a fee for the segregation and redaction of responsive records, and granted an extension of thirty business days to provide records. Further, I found that the Town had not met its burden to assess fees in excess of $25.00 per hour. Concurrent with its petition and while this appeal was pending, the Town provided a supplemental response in the form of a fee estimate to Mr. Waple on September 16, 2024. Subsequent to the opening of this appeal, I learned that the Town provided a further response to Mr. Waple on September 20, 2024. Where this appeal was opened as a result of the Town’s September 12, 2024 and September 13, 2024 responses, I will now consider this 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

Mallory E. Aronstein SPR24/2582 Page 2 September 27, 2024 administrative appeal closed. Mr. Waple may appeal the substantive nature of the Town’s September 20th response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Paul Waple