Joyce, Jay v. Granby, Town of- Town Clerk (SPR 20260076)

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts William Francis Galvin, Secretary of the Commonwealth Public Records Division Manza Arthur Supervisor of Records January 22, 2026 SPR26/0076 Emily E. Reed Town Clerk Town of Granby 215B West State Street Granby, MA 01033 Dear Ms. Reed: I have received the petition of Jay Joyce appealing the response of the Town of Granby (Town) to a request for public records. See G. L. c. 66, § 10A; see also 950 C.M.R. 32.08(1). On September 15, 2025, Mr. Joyce requested the following: …all the Granby documentation concerning the Wine Haus located at … East Street, Granby, MA. including but not limited to Executive Session Meeting Minutes, Agenda Meeting Minutes, all Inspections, all Licenses\Permits including their applications, other documentation for the Town of Granby. On December 9, 2025, Mr. Joyce further clarified his request, stating, “I still have not received the documentation authorizing the Wine Haus to receive their Certificate of Conformance – Permits [sic] other documentation justifying the Granby Building Commissioner to issue that Certificate.” The Town provided its initial response on September 22, 2025, and provided multiple responses through December 9, 2025. Unsatisfied with the responses, Mr. Joyce petitioned this office and this appeal, SPR26/0076, 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). 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

Emily Reed SPR26/0076 Page 2 January 21, 2026 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 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. Current Appeal In his appeal petition, Mr. Joyce contends the following: As you can see in the e-mail below from the Granby Town Clerk, our Public Records Request (PRR) for the Town of Granby (01033) is way overdue even when we granted the Town of Granby numerous extensions. Records from the Hampshire Registry of Deeds demonstrate that [an identified individual] purchased the … East Street, Granby, MA 01033 property in September 2020…. The oldest records we have received from our Public Records Request to the Town of Granby are dated in 2022. The Town’s Responses The Town confirmed receipt of the request in its September 22, 2025 response. On September 30, 2025, the Town provided Mr. Joyce with responsive documents, including meeting minutes and permit applications. On October 2, 2025, the Town provided more responsive documents and stated, “[h]ere is the 2nd part with the rest of files.” On October 8, 2025, the Town responded, “[y]ou’ve received the information from the Board of Health and the Building Department. I’m going to send this back out to the assistant town administrator to see if they can send what they have out.” On November 21, 2025, the Town stated, “I did send the request out and the Building Commissioner and Board of Health sent you the information they have but I will send it back out for a third time to the other departments.” On November 25, 2025, the Town responded, “I have attached the license and associated

Emily Reed SPR26/0076 Page 3 January 21, 2026 documents that I have located in the office of the Select Board. For Executive Session Meeting Minutes, and ‘Agenda’ (Open) Meeting Minutes, those that have been completed have been submitted to the Town Clerk. If they are not in the possession of the Town Clerk, I would need the dates of those meetings in order to locate them.” In its December 9, 2025 response, the Town stated, “[t]he town will need additional time to complete the request. I would like to respectfully request an extension until December 30, 2025.” Additional Records Based on the Town’s response, and in conjunction with Mr. Joyce’s appeal, it is unclear if the Town possesses additional records responsive to the request. Specifically, it is unclear whether the Town possesses a “Certificate of Conformance” and “[p]ermits [and/or] other documentation justifying the Granby Building Commissioner to issue that Certificate.” 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). Custodians are expected to use their superior knowledge of the records in their custody to assist requestors in obtaining the desired information. See 950 C.M.R. 32.04(5). Consequently, the Town must clarify whether additional records exist. Conclusion Accordingly, the Town is ordered to provide Mr. Joyce 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. Joyce 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: Jay Joyce