Mysterious Monolith (Atascadero Police Department)

Good morning,

Your Public Records Request was initially received on December 9, 2020. The City is processing your request. In accordance with Section 6253(c), of the Public Records Act, we will contact you on or before December 21, 2020 to arrange for inspection or copying of responsive records.

I do not see any new information being requested in this follow-up, other than it has now been addressed to Atascadero Police Department. The original request covered all City Departments and is being treated as a citywide request. Unless I have missed something in this follow-up, we will continue to move forward with the original request, which will cover and responsive documents from the Police Department.

If I have misunderstood your follow-up request, please reply to this email. Otherwise, we will be in contact at or before December 21, 2020.

Regards,
Lara Christensen
Deputy City Manager
City Clerk
City of Atascadero | City Manager’s Office
6500 Palma Ave | Atascadero CA 93422
P: 805.470.3400 | F: 805.470.3455
www.atascadero.org<http://www.atascadero.org/>
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Please Note: With the current spread of COVID-19, the highest priority for the City of Atascadero is to protect the health and safety of our community and staff members. Many staff members are working from remote locations, but are available as always by telephone and email. Please, Be Safe, Be Calm, and Be Kind! Thank you.
The information contained in this email pertains to City business and is intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. If the reader/recipient of this message is not an intended recipient and you have received this message in error, please advise the sender by reply email or phone and delete the message. Please note that email correspondence with the City of Atascadero, along with attachments, may be subject to the California Public Records Act, and therefore may be subject to disclosure unless otherwise exempt by law.

Good afternoon,

In accordance with Government Code Section 6253(c), this email serves as the City’s written response to your Public Records Act request received on December 8, 2020.

In your request you seek:
Any complaints about the monolith from residents
Any information gathered about the placement of the monolith
Any emails including the word “monolith” sent to or from city employees between the dates of November 25 and the time this request is processed
Any guidance about the monolith
Any presentations about the monolith
Any police reports about the monolith or its destruction
Any emails from residents mentioning the monolith
Any photos, video, or voicemails related to or of the monolith
Any communication with state or federal agencies about the monolith
Please search records from November 25th until the time this request is processed.

A determination has been made and there are identifiable public records responsive to your request. The PRA exempts certain types of documents from disclosure (see generally Government Code sections 6254 and 6255) and the records you have requested include records that are exempt from disclosure. Accordingly, the City respectfully declines to release documents that are exempt from disclosure pursuant to the following exemptions:

A. Personal, private information is exempt from disclosure pursuant to California Government Code sections 6254(c), 6254(k) and 6255 and California Civil Code Section 1798.1 et seq. because that information is confidential to protect the privacy of the individual(s) as provided by the right to privacy provisions of Article I, Section 1 of the California Constitution.
B. The public interest exemption, Government Code section 6255, applies because the public interest served by not disclosing the record clearly outweighs the public interest served by disclosure of the City’s interview panelists in order to protect the deliberative process and the integrity of the interview process.

Except for documents that are exempt from disclosure pursuant to the exemptions specified herein, responsive records that are available electronically are attached. We believe this email completes your request. Should you believe there to be additional documents in the City’s possession which are responsive to your request, please let us know.

Appointments can be made to inspect the documents in person. Additionally, you may request hard copies of the documents be mailed directly to you (a nominal printing fee plus reasonable postage will apply).

Pursuant to the requirement in Government Code section 6253(d) that you be notified of the name and titles or positions of each person responsible for the denial, the following are responsible for this decision:
o Lara K. Christensen, Deputy City Manager / City Clerk

If you have any questions or require additional information, please contact me at (805) 470-3400 or cityclerk@atascadero.org.

Good afternoon,

I think there has been some confusion with this request. Yesterday, 12/30/2020, the City Clerk’s Office received a follow-up to a 12/15/2020 follow-up addressed to the Atascadero Police Department and referenced a request made on 12/3/2020 that, to my knowledge, was never received by the City Clerk’s Office or the Atascadero Police Department.

The first request received by the City Clerk’s Department was on 12/9/2020. The request to the City Clerk’s Office has a different email address than the one in which I am now responding and to which I responded on 12/15/2020. Please see the attached request received by the Clerk’s Office on 12/9/2020.

A follow-up request was received by the City Clerk’s Department on 12/15/2020 but this request was directed to the Atascadero Police Department and referenced a request sent on 12/3/2020. An email was sent at that time asking for clarification as to whether the request sent to the City Clerk’s Office on 12/9/2020 was the same request referenced in the 12/15/2020 request addressed to the Atascadero Police Department. No response was received to indicate if these were the same request, different requests, or requesting additional information. The CPRA response was put on hold awaiting receipt of a response.

In any event, and since no response was ever received addressing the receipt of two separate requests, the City has responded based on the request received by the City Clerk’s Office on 12/9/2020 (attached) using the “upload documents directly” link provided in the email below.

We consider this request to be closed. If you believe there are responsive records that have not been produced, please let us know.

Thank you,
Lara Christensen
Deputy City Manager
City Clerk
City of Atascadero | City Manager’s Office
6500 Palma Ave | Atascadero CA 93422
P: 805.470.3400 | F: 805.470.3455
www.atascadero.org<http://www.atascadero.org/>
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