Andrew Rovan v. Stow, Town of - Town Administrator (SPR 20253797)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records December 30, 2025 SPR25/3797 Denise M. Dembkoski Town Administrator Town of Stow 380 Great Road Stow, MA 01775 Dear Ms. Dembkoski: On December 23, 2025, this office received your petition on behalf of the Town of Stow (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, I understand that the Town furnished a copy of this petition to the requestor, Andrew Rovan. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c); G. L. c. 66, § 10(d)(iv)(2). On December 9, 2025, in three requests identified as Request #8, Request #9, and Request #10, respectively, Mr. Rovan sought the following: Request 8 This request concerns the Conservation Commission’s June 3, 2025 meeting, specifically the agenda item labeled: “Review/Vote – Enforcement Order/Letter – . . . Great Road” . . . and Conservation Commission Minutes from June 3, 2025, approved June 18, 2025. . .[:] [1] All materials reviewed, presented, referenced, discussed, or relied upon by the Commission during the agenda item “Review/Vote - Enforcement Order/Letter – . . . Great Road” . . .[;] [2] All documents prepared in anticipation of the meeting . . .[;] [3] All communications between any Conservation Commission member, Town staff members, DEP, Planning Department, or Town officials between January 1, 2025 – August 31, 2025 relating to: . . . Great Road[,] Enforcement order[,] Pond/wetland classification[,] Alleged violations[,] Aerial imagery[,] Site visits[,] Complaints[,] [and] Any preparatory discussion for June 3 meeting[;] 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

Denise M. Dembkoski SPR25/3797 Page 2 December 30, 2025 [4] All Zoom-related records for the June 3 meeting . . .[;] [5] Any draft, proposed, or final enforcement action documents . . .[;] [6] All correspondence of any kind relating to the June 3 agenda and meeting minutes item “Review/Vote - Enforcement Order/Letter – . . . Great Road[.]” Date range: January 1, 2025 - August 31, 2025[.] Additionally, supply any and all documentation that supports, “The owner of . . . Great Road has constructed an above ground pool and greenhouse within approximately 5’ of a pond.” Request 9 This request concerns the Town of Stow’s response to the roadway flooding event on December 18, 2023. . .[:] [1] All pump activity and fire department records for December 18-19, 2023[.] Including but not limited to: [a] Pump logs . . .[;] [b] Fire Department activity logs . . .[;] [c] DPW emergency response logs . . .[;] [d] Any radio transmissions, dispatch logs, audio files, or transcripts relating to the flood response[;] [2] All documents relating to the decision to pump stormwater [sic] into . . . Great Road . . . Date Range: Dec. 1, 2023 – Jan. 31, 2024[;] [3] All MS4 records relating to the event . . .[;] [4] All DPW and Stormwater [sic] Division maintenance and inspection records for the affected roadway . . . [s]pecifically records that show: roadway drainage condition[,] culvert function[,] catch basin cleaning[,] pipe condition[,] any identified blockages[,] pre-flooding inspections (Oct–Dec 2023)[,] [and] post- flooding corrective actions[;] [5] All environmental or hydrological assessments conducted after the flood . . .[;] [6] All communications with Conservation Commission Documents [sic] involving: the 12/18/23 flood[,] pond impact[,] wetlands implications[,] potential enforcement[,] discussions of Town liability or responsibility[,] any drafts, internal notes, or emails referring to . . . Great Road during or after[,] [and] the incident[;] [7] All communications with Town Counsel, Insurer, or Risk Management [l]imited to: factual summaries[,] incident reporting[,] discussions of DPW/FD

Denise M. Dembkoski SPR25/3797 Page 3 December 30, 2025 actions[,] descriptions of the pumping operation[,] [and] preliminary liability analysis[.] Request 10 This request concerns all communications and expenses . . . related to “. . . Great Road,” wetlands enforcement, or questions of Conservation Commission jurisdiction . . . [from] . . . the period: October 1, 2025 – Present . . .[:] [1] . . . all documents, communications, drafts, notes, emails, attachments, text messages, Teams/Slack messages, memos, call logs, and correspondence exchanged between: . . . KP Law, P.C.[,] . . . and any of the following: [a] Conservation Director . . .[;] [b] Assistant Conservation Director . . .[;] [c] Any Conservation Commission Member[;] [d] Town Administrator . . .[;] [e] DPW[;] [f] Any Town employee involved in wetlands administration[;] [g] Any Select Board member[;] Subject Matter Scope [-] All communications relating to: [h] . . . Great Road[;] [i] Alleged wetlands violations[;] [j] Jurisdictional determinations or analysis[;] [k] The November 18, 2025 Conservation Commission meeting[;] [l] Statements made in open session that KP Law “concurred” with enforcement[;] [m] Draft or proposed enforcement orders, letters, findings, or votes[;] [n] Interpretation of [an identified] recorded deed and the drainage/water- level control rights conveyed[;] [o] Internal concerns, strategies, or deliberations concerning this resident or property[;] [p] Discussions of public records requests or responses related to this matter[;] [q] Any DEP consultation represented as “concurrence[;]” . . . [2] All invoices, billing statements, and payment records from KP Law or any other outside counsel relating to . . . Great Road, [an identified last name], or Conservation-related enforcement activities[;] [3] Total expenditures to date, broken down by: Invoice date[,] Amount billed[,] Amount paid[,] [and] Task/date descriptions. . . . In an email to this office and copied to the Town on December 29, 2025, Mr. Rovan objected to the Town’s petition.

Denise M. Dembkoski SPR25/3797 Page 4 December 30, 2025 Petitions 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 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) shall provide an initial response to a requestor within ten business days after receipt of a request for public records. 950 C.M.R. 32.06(4)(b). Current Petition In its petition, the Town seeks an additional 30 business days to respond to the request and provides the following information in support of its petition: The Town . . . respectfully requests an additional thirty (30) business days to produce responsive records . . . given the anticipated volume of records requested and in light of the Town’s limited public resources and staffing at this time at Town Hall, as well as the DPW’s operational needs during the winter months, including responding to weather and storm related matters. . . . By way of background, the Town has responded to multiple other public records requests sent by this Requestor in compliance with the Public Records Law in recent months, and further responded to several of his appeals pending with the

Denise M. Dembkoski SPR25/3797 Page 5 December 30, 2025 Division in good faith without filing a petition for any relief. . . . [B]ased on the Town’s initial good faith work, the Town anticipates that there are significant electronic and paper records that must be located and that information contained in the responsive records for communications with Town Counsel and privileged materials will contain information protected by the attorney-client privilege, warranting a privilege review and redactions and/or withholding for privilege. . . . In light of the need to collect, segregate and examine the records, the scope of redaction required to prevent unlawful disclosure, the capacity of the Town to produce the records without the extension, and the efforts undertaken by the Town in fulfilling the current request and previous requests, the Town has established good cause to permit an extension of time. G. L. c. 66, § 10(c)(i)-(iv). The Town is granted an extension of 30 business days. Conclusion As described above, I find that the Town has established good cause for a time extension of 30 business days. Please note, Mr. Rovan 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: Andrew Rovan