Mark Nelson v. Wilmington, Town of - Town Clerk (SPR 20253798)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records January 8, 2026 SPR25/3798 Beth Lawrenson Town Clerk Town of Wilmington 121 Glen Road Wilmington, MA 01887 Dear Ms. Lawrenson: I have received the petition of Mark Nelson appealing the response of the Town of Wilmington (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On October 16, 2025, Mr. Nelson sought the following: [1] An attested copy of the Select Board Executive session Minutes of March 8, 2021[;] [2] An attested copy of the Select Board Executive session Minutes of February 10, 2020. Mr. Nelson previously requested these records on November 10, 2023. The Town responded on November 13, and December 3, 2025. Unsatisfied with the responses, Mr. Nelson petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR25/3798, 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

Beth Lawrenson SPR25/3798 Page 2 January 8, 2026 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 November 13th and December 3rd Responses In its November 13, 2025 response, the Town stated, “[t]he Select Board will be meeting on the 24th of November and will go into executive session. During this session, they will vote on whether or not to release the minutes. I will contact you on the 25th of November to let you know their decision.” In its December 3, 2025 response, the Town stated, “[the Select Board] released the minutes with redactions. Town Council is doing the redactions. As soon as [the minutes are] return[ed], I will send them to you.” Current Appeal In his December 23, 2025 petition to this office, Mr. Nelson stated, “I was notified on 12- 2-2025 that the minutes would be provided as requested. I still have not received any response.” On December 23, 2025, in an email to this office, the Town stated, “[t]hese minutes were not released at the time of the request. The Select Board met in executive session to review and vote on releasing these minutes. They released the minutes with redactions…they were redacting any court cases that were not closed…” Timeframe for Providing Records G. L. c. 66, § 10(b) provides, in pertinent part, that if the magnitude or difficulty of a 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).

Beth Lawrenson SPR25/3798 Page 3 January 8, 2026 Where Mr. Nelson submitted his request on October 16, 2025, and the Town has not provided responsive records, I find the Town has not met its burden in responding to the request in accordance with G. L. c. 66, § 10(b). Consequently, the Town must provide an estimated date as to when it intends to provide the responsive records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10(a) (records must be provided without unreasonable delay). Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Nelson 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. Mr. Nelson may appeal the substantive nature of the Town’s response within ninety days. See 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). Sincerely, Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records cc: Mark Nelson