Mark Wisentaner v. Sandwich, Town of (SPR 20243065)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records November 18, 2024 SPR24/3065 Taylor D. White Town Clerk Records Access Officer Town of Sandwich 100 Route 6A Sandwich, MA 02563 Dear Mr. White: On November 12, 2024, this office received your petition on behalf of the Town of Sandwich (Town) seeking an extension of time to produce records. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv); see also 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4). As required by law, it is my understanding that the Town furnished a copy of the petition to the requestor, Mark Wisentaner. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On October 27, 2024, Mr. Wisentaner requested the following records: Emails, Text Messages, Documents and Correspondence received or obtained by or generated by a Public Body or elected Board Member or public employee (collectively Records) between June 1, 2022 and October 27, 2024 with regard to real property in Sandwich, Massachusetts titled to Discovery Hill, LLC or Mark W. Wisentaner or Kiah Discovery Hill Realty Trust. Petition for an Extension of Time Under the Public Records Law, upon a showing of good cause, the Supervisor of Records (Supervisor) may grant a single extension to an agency not to exceed 20 business days and a single extension to a municipality not to exceed 30 business days. In determining whether there has been a showing of good cause, the Supervisor shall consider, but shall not be limited to considering: (i) the need to search for, collect, segregate or examine records; (ii) the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure; (iii) the capacity or the normal business hours of operation of the agency or municipality to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and 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

Taylor D. White SPR24/3065 Page 2 November 18, 2024 previous requests; (v) whether the request, either individually or as part of a series of requests from the same requestor, is frivolous or intended to harass or intimidate the agency or municipality; and (vi) the public interest served by expeditious disclosure. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c). If the Supervisor determines that the request is part of a series of contemporaneous requests that are frivolous or designed to intimidate or harass, and the requests are not intended for the broad dissemination of information to the public about actual or alleged government activity, the Supervisor may grant a longer extension or relieve the agency or municipality of its obligation to provide copies of the records sought. Id. The filing of a petition does not affect the requirement that a Records Access Officer (RAO) must provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 36.06(4)(b). Current Petition In its petition, the Town requests “additional time to respond” and provides the following information in support of its request: [T]his public records request was received by my office on October 27, 2024, with a deadline to response of November 8, 2024. On November 8th, I emailed the requestor all documents in our custody (except emails) along with a good faith estimate to gather, review, and provide the emails. I also indicated we will provide the remaining documents (emails) by November 18th. The requestor made payment that day and I immediately emailed our IT Department requesting they begin work. The requestor has not agreed to my proposed timetable and demanded that I produce the emails by the end of the day today. … [I] believe several factors warrant this extension including the November 5th election, the November 11th holiday and Town Counsel needing to review the emails prior to their release. I intend to have the emails to requestor by the end of the day on November 18th. Conclusion In light of the Town's petition, I find it is unnecessary to opine on the Town’s extension request, because it intends to provide responsive records within twenty five (25) business days of the receipt of the request as allowed in G. L. c. 66 § l0(b)(vi). The Town is advised it must seek another petition for extension if it cannot provide responsive records within twenty five (25) business days of the receipt of the request. G. L. c. 66 § l0(c).

Taylor D. White SPR24/3065 Page 3 November 18, 2024 The records must be provided in a manner consistent with the Public Records Law and its Regulations. Mr. Wisentaner may appeal the substantive nature of the Town’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Please note, Mr. Wisentaner has the right to seek judicial review of this decision by commencing a civil action in the appropriate superior court. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(4),10A(c). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Mark Wisentaner