George A. Forcier v. Conway, Town of - Office of the Town Administrator (SPR 20250655)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records March 12, 2025 SPR25/0655 Véronique Blanchard Town Administrator Town of Conway 32 Main Street P. O. Box 240 Conway, MA 01341 Dear Ms. Blanchard: On March 10, 2025, this office received your petition on behalf of the Town of Conway (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, George Forcier. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On March 4, 2025, Mr. Forcier requested the following: [1] Any documents and communications pertaining to the MassWorks grant waiver allowing use of state money to address stormwater management issues on Baptist Hill[;] [2] Documents and communications pertaining to GZA work on the Baptist Hill rebuild plan, including information pertaining to the town’s early termination of the GZA contract for that work. 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 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

Véronique Blanchard SPR25/0655 Page 2 March 12, 2025 to produce the request without the extension; (iv) efforts undertaken by the agency or municipality in fulfilling the current request and 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). Request for Additional Time to Produce Responsive Records In its March 10th petition, the Town requests an extension of 30 business days. In support of its request, a representative of the Town states, “I am the only person available to pull together these records. I am currently working on multiple grants with deadlines this spring as well as the town budget and warrant for annual town meeting. Given this work load I simply will not have time to complete this request by March 18th.” Based on the Town’s petition, I find that in light of the capacity of the Town to produce the request without the extension, the Town has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(iii). The Town is granted an extension of 30 business days. Conclusion Accordingly, I find the Town has established good cause for a time extension of 30 business days as described above. Please note, Mr. Forcier 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(c), 10(d)(iv)(4), 10A(c). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: George Forcier