Edward Tricker v. Dartmouth, Town of - Office of the Town Clerk (SPR 20252455)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records August 26, 2025 SPR25/2455 Sarah Haskell-Arruda Town Clerk Town of Dartmouth 400 Slocum Road Dartmouth, MA 02747 Dear Ms. Haskell-Arruda: On August 19, 2025, this office received your petition on behalf of the Town of Dartmouth (Town) seeking an extension of time to produce records, permission to charge for time spent segregating or redacting responsive records, and a waiver of statutory limits on fees that may be assessed in responding to the request. 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 the Town furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor, Dr. Edward Tricker. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On August 14, 2025, Dr. Tricker requested the following: [C]ommunications to the period beginning January 1, 2015, through the present, or from the earliest date at which electronic communications are accessible . . . . from personnel in the following departments: Town Administrator’s Office[:] Board of Health[:] Police Department[;] Planning/Zoning Department[:] . . . including: [1] Internal and external communications . . . referencing the New Bedford Police Department firing range or related concerns raised by residents, officials, or external entities; [2] Meeting agendas, minutes, and recordings from any official Town meeting in which the range or related issues were discussed; [3] Permitting documents, environmental or zoning filings, and regulatory submissions or reviews related to the range; [4] Incident reports or complaints involving noise, stray bullets, injuries, or other safety-related incidents linked to the range; [5] Environmental or public health data . . ., especially relating to wetlands and Zone II wellhead protection areas; [6] Communications with external agencies, including but not limited to 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

Sarah Haskell-Arruda SPR25/2455 Page 2 August 26, 2025 MassDEP, EPA, ATF, the Massachusetts Environmental Police, and elected officials; [7] Any formal or informal assessments, strategies, or policy discussions regarding the range's operation, risk mitigation, or intergovernmental coordination. Open Appeal This request is currently the subject of an appeal. See SPR25/2494. A determination will be issued separately within ten business days of receipt of the appeal. Current Petition Following the opening of this petition, in an email to the Town and this office dated August 24, 2025, Dr. Tricker states that he is, “writing to resolve this matter efficiently and in good faith, without unnecessary escalation or cost for either party” and provides numerous modifications to narrow the scope of his request. Subsequently, in an email to Dr. Tricker and copied to this office on August 26, 2025, the Town confirmed receipt of Dr. Tricker’s modified August 24th request. Conclusion In light of the decision to modify the scope of the request, I find it is unnecessary to opine on the Town’s petition at this time. This office encourages Dr. Tricker and the Town to continue to communicate directly in order to facilitate providing records more efficiently and affordably. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(b)(vii). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Dr. Edward Tricker