Paul Turner v. Lakeville, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20252438)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records September 2, 2025 SPR25/2438 Lillian Drane Town Clerk Town of Lakeville 346 Bedford Street Lakeville, MA 02347 Dear Ms. Drane: I have received the petition of Paul Turner appealing the response of the Town of Lakeville (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). In a request dated July 28, 2025, and received by the Town on August 14, 2025, Mr. Turner requested: [1] Any and all records regarding the complaint filed March 26, 2025 regarding the commercial firewood processing operation being performed at … School Street filed with the Building Commissioner/ Zoning Enforcement Officer[;] [2] Any and all records or communications between the Town Administrator, Building Commissioner/Zoning Enforcement Officer and or the Board of Selectman members regarding the complaint at this site[.] Previous Appeal This request was the subject of a previous appeal. See SPR25/2391 Determination of the Supervisor of Records (August 18, 2025). In my August 18th determination, I closed the appeal after the Town provided a response on August 15, 2025. Unsatisfied with the Town’s response, Mr. Turner petitioned this office, and this appeal, SPR25/2438, 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 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

Lillian Drane SPR25/2438 Page 2 September 2, 2025 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. Att’y for the Norfolk Dist. v. Flatley, 419 Mass. 507, 511 (1995) (custodian has the burden of 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. 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 August 15th Response In its August 15, 2025 response, the Town provided numerous responsive records via email and stated the following: Please find attached the materials you requested. You’ll see two Zip folders: • Building Commissioner – Contains relevant documents pertaining to your request • Town Administrator – Includes emails received from you These files represent the complete set of records held by each custodian in response to your inquiry. After a thorough review, no additional records were found to exist regarding this matter. Current Appeal In his August 18, 2025 appeal petition, Mr. Turner contends that the Town’s “response to the Public Records Request is incomplete” and provides “a list of records of which I am in possession that were omitted from the . . . response[.]” The list includes the following: Text message between [Mr. Turner] and the Building Commissioner: 1. March 14, 2025, 9:23am............2 exchanges 2. March 21, 2025, 12:01pm..........1 exchange 3. March 24, 2025, 1:48pm............2 exchanges 4. April 2, 2025, 5:05pm................36 exchanges 5. April 14, 2025, 3:50pm...............1 exchange 6. April 17, 2025, 4:51pm..............3 exchanges 7. April 29, 2025, 6:53pm..............2 exchanges 9. May12, 2025 11:59am..............1 exchange 10. May 12, 2025, 2:54pm.............7 exchanges

Lillian Drane SPR25/2438 Page 3 September 2, 2025 11. May 27, 2025, 11:36am............1 exchange 12. June 20, 2025, 3:55pm............1 exchange . . . . 13. June 27, 2025, 3:26pm............1 exchange Emails sent by [an identified individual] . . . to the Building Commissioner: 1. April 28, 2025, 1:14pm 2. April 28, 2025, 1:34pm 3. May 11, 2025, 6:32pm 4. June 26, 2025, 7:13pm 5. June 27, 2025, 9:46am 6. July 25, 2025, 12:29pm Emails sent by [Mr. Turner] to the Board of Selectmen: 1. July 28, 2025, 8:13pm 2. July 29, 2025, 6:54pm Possession, Custody, or Control; Duty to Demand Delivery of Records The duty to comply with requests for records extends to those records that exist and are in the possession, custody, or control of the custodian of records at the time of the request. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a)(ii). Additionally, public records must be maintained and kept in a manner that allows access by the general public, as they are subject to mandatory disclosure upon request. G. L. c. 66, § 10(a); see also Reinstein v. Police Comm’r of Boston, 378 Mass. 281, 289-90 (1979). Based on the information provided in Mr. Turner’s appeal petition, in conjunction with a telephone conversation between this office and the Town on August 28, 2025, it is unclear whether the Town possesses additional records responsive to the request. If the Town does possess additional responsive records, it must either provide the records, or cite an exemption to the Public Records Law, and explain with specificity how such an exemption applies to withhold or redact the records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(iv) (a 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”). Additionally, where some of the responsive records may have been created on personal devices, please note that the Town has a statutory duty to demand delivery of its public records that are outside of its possession. “If the custodian does not have custody of public records, the custodian shall demand delivery from any person unlawfully having possession of the records, and the records shall immediately be delivered by such person to the custodian.” G. L. c. 66, § 17. Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Turner with a response to his request, provided in a manner consistent with this order, the Public Records Law and its Regulations

Lillian Drane SPR25/2438 Page 4 September 2, 2025 within 10 business days. A copy of any such response must be provided to this office. It is preferable to send an electronic copy of this response to this office at pre@sec.state.ma.us. Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Paul Turner