Meghan Perry v. Nantucket, Town of (SPR 20251350)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records May 27, 2025 SPR25/1350 Maureen Coleman Public Records Compliance Officer Town of Nantucket 16 Broad Street Nantucket, MA 02554 Dear Ms. Coleman: I have received the petition of Meghan Perry appealing the response of the Town of Nantucket (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On March 21, 2025, Ms. Perry requested, “. . .all correspondence between all representatives of the Town of Nantucket and all representatives of Surfside Crossing from September 15, 2024 until the fulfillment of this request…” On March 28, 2025, Ms. Perry clarified her request stating, “[c]ould I please include all Selectboard members, all affordable housing trust members, all Npedc members, the planning director, assistant director of town manager, assistant managers, the finance director and [an identified individual].” The Town responded on March 21, March 28, and April 14, 2025. Unsatisfied with the responses, Ms. Perry petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/1350, was opened as a result. 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); 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 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

Maureen Coleman SPR25/1350 Page 2 May 27, 2025 establishing the applicability of an exemption). To meet the specificity requirement a custodian must not only cite an exemption, but must also state why the exemption applies to the withheld or redacted portion of the responsive record. If there are any fees associated with a response a written, good faith estimate must be provided. See 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. The Town’s Responses In its March 21, 2025, and March 28, 2025 responses, the Town sought clarification of Ms. Perry’s request. In its April 14, 2025 response, the Town stated, “[the Town] sent the attached search list but did not receive confirmation [and] edit[ed] the search time frame to capture additional emails up until April 14, 2025.” Current Appeal In her May 14, 2025 petition to this office, Ms. Perry stated, “I have not received information regarding this request from the [Town] and it is far beyond the 10 business days.” Timeliness in Providing Records G. L. c. 66, § 10(b) provides, in pertinent part, that if the magnitude or difficulty of the request unduly burdens the other responsibilities of the agency or municipality such that the agency or municipality cannot provide records within 10 business days, the agency or municipality must inform the requestor in writing within 10 business days. With respect to the timeframe to produce responsive records, the written response shall: identify a reasonable timeframe in which the agency or municipality shall produce the public records sought; provided, that . . . for a municipality the timeframe shall not exceed 25 business days following the initial receipt of the request for public records; and provided further, that the requestor may voluntarily agree to a response date beyond the timeframes set forth herein. G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi). Where Ms. Perry submitted the request on March 21, 2025, and the Town has not provided the responsive records or cited an exemption for withholding the records, I find the Town has not met its burden in responding to the request in accordance with G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vi). Consequently, I find the Town must provide an estimated date as to when it intends to complete its review and provide the responsive records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) (records must be provided without unreasonable delay).

Maureen Coleman SPR25/1350 Page 3 May 27, 2025 Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Ms. Perry with a response to the request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, 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. Ms. Perry may appeal the substantive nature of the Town’s response within ninety (90) days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Meghan Perry