Nuisance Ordinance Information Request

Dear Jenny Wadhwa:
Your request has been received and is being processed. Your request was received in this office on 9/13/2023 and given the reference number P000534-091323 for tracking purposes.
Records Requested: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Maryland Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

Any and all records from the past two years (September 2021-September 2023) regarding your nuisance property ordinance that will be referred to as "ordinance" in this request but could be known (but not limited to) as "Excessive Use of Police Services" as described in Sec. 15-46 in Frederick's city code.

Please provide any and all written records (including but not limited to hard-copy documents, memos, emails, word processor documents, PDF documents, PowerPoint files, images files, video files etc.) regarding the Ordinance including but not limited to:

• any training/presentation materials used in communication, promotions, workshops, seminars, etc

• criminal background checks performed on prospective tenants

• evictions filed by property owners and number of tenants evicted as a result of the ordinance

• suspensions or revocation of a residential rental license, against property owners who fail to comply with the requirements of the ordinance

• police calls, reports, citations, or arrests, collected by the municipality police department for the purpose of enforcing the ordinance

• meeting minutes and correspondence between municipality officials, regarding the implementation and enforcement of the ordinance

• all documents concerning the passage of the nuisance ordinance and any amendments to it, including communications with City elected officials, city staff, and others, and any data relied upon or reviewed as a part of the passage or amendments to the nuisance ordinance since August 2021 to August 2023.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 10 calendar days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Jenny Wadhwa

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Your request will be forwarded to the relevant department(s) to locate the information you seek and to determine the volume and any costs associated with satisfying your request. You will be contacted about the availability and/or provided with copies of the records in question.
You can monitor the progress of your request at the link below and you'll receive an email when your request has been completed.

The City of Frederick

--- Please respond above this line ---
RE: Police Records Request of September 13, 2023, Reference # P000534-091323 Dear Jenny Wadhwa, The City of Frederick Police Department received a public records request from you on September 13, 2023 for certain records under the Maryland Public Information Act, Annotate Code of Maryland, General Provisions Article ("GP), Section 4-101 et seq.  In particular, you are seeking all records in my custody and control pertaining to the following: To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Maryland Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

Any and all records from the past two years (September 2021-September 2023) regarding your nuisance property ordinance that will be referred to as "ordinance" in this request but could be known (but not limited to) as "Excessive Use of Police Services" as described in Sec. 15-46 in Frederick's city code.

Please provide any and all written records (including but not limited to hard-copy documents, memos, emails, word processor documents, PDF documents, PowerPoint files, images files, video files etc.) regarding the Ordinance including but not limited to:

• any training/presentation materials used in communication, promotions, workshops, seminars, etc- Please see Powerpoint training added to the attachments tab of your request

• criminal background checks performed on prospective tenants - N/A FPD has no responsive documents - The Frederick Police Department does not conduct criminal background checks on prospective tenants

• evictions filed by property owners and number of tenants evicted as a result of the ordinance - The Frederick Police Department has no responsive documents related to evictions filed by property owners and number of tenants evicted as result of ordinance.

• suspensions or revocation of a residential rental license, against property owners who fail to comply with the requirements of the ordinance - The Frederick police Department has no responsive documents related to suspensions or revocations of residential rental licenses

• police calls, reports, citations, or arrests, collected by the municipality police department for the purpose of enforcing the ordinance - • meeting minutes and correspondence between municipality officials, regarding the implementation and enforcement of the ordinance - Please provide clarification regarding this item in your request.  If you are requesting calls for service reports, incident reports and copies of citations, for the time frame 9/1/2021 - 9/30/2023,  OUR STAFF ESTIMATE IT WILL TAKE APPROXIMATELY TWO WEEKS TO COMPILE AND REVIEW THE DATA AT THE Assigned STAFF MEMBER'S HOURLY RATE (AFTER 2 HRS) FOR A TOTAL FEE OF APPROXIMATELY  $1,264.00
FPD has no responsive documents related to meeting minutes, correspondence between municipality officials etc.

• all documents concerning the passage of the nuisance ordinance and any amendments to it, including communications with City elected officials, city staff, and others, and any data relied upon or reviewed as a part of the passage or amendments to the nuisance ordinance since August 2021 to August 2023. - The Frederick Police Department has no responsive documents.
For questions or additional information, please reply to this email. Sincerely, Dana Kelly
Records Manager

--- Please respond above this line ---
RE: Police Records Request of September 13, 2023, Reference # P000534-091323 Dear Jenny Wadhwa, The City of Frederick Police Department received a public records request from you on September 13, 2023 for certain records under the Maryland Public Information Act, Annotate Code of Maryland, General Provisions Article ("GP), Section 4-101 et seq.  In particular, you are seeking all records in my custody and control pertaining to the following: To Whom It May Concern:Any and all records from the past two years (September 2021-September 2023) regarding your nuisance property ordinance that will be referred to as "ordinance" in this request but could be known (but not limited to) as "Excessive Use of Police Services" as described in Sec. 15-46 in Frederick's city code.

Pursuant to the Maryland Public Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

Please provide any and all written records (including but not limited to hard-copy documents, memos, emails, word processor documents, PDF documents, PowerPoint files, images files, video files etc.) regarding the Ordinance including but not limited to:

• any training/presentation materials used in communication, promotions, workshops, seminars, etc

• criminal background checks performed on prospective tenants

• evictions filed by property owners and number of tenants evicted as a result of the ordinance

• suspensions or revocation of a residential rental license, against property owners who fail to comply with the requirements of the ordinance

• police calls, reports, citations, or arrests, collected by the municipality police department for the purpose of enforcing the ordinance

• meeting minutes and correspondence between municipality officials, regarding the implementation and enforcement of the ordinance

• all documents concerning the passage of the nuisance ordinance and any amendments to it, including communications with City elected officials, city staff, and others, and any data relied upon or reviewed as a part of the passage or amendments to the nuisance ordinance since August 2021 to August 2023.

Ms. Wadhwa, I apologize for the delay in response.  Your request bounced between the Frederick Police Department and the City Legal Office.  It is my understanding that Phyllis Hane from City Legal provided all respondent documents in the possession of the Legal Department.  Please see the response as it pertains to any respondent documentation in possession of the Frederick Police Department, as well as an estimate to produce materials related to #6 of your request police calls, reports etc.:
1. Training Powerpoint provided THIS WAS PREVIOUSLY ADDED TO THE ATTACHMENTS TAB RE THIS REQUEST IN YOUR PORTAL ACCOUNT
2. FPD has no responsive documents - we do not conduct criminal background checks on prospective tenants
3. The Frederick Police Department has no responsive documents -related to evictions filed by property owners and number of tenants evicted as result of ordiance our understanding is this is not applicable to the ordinance - but if it is, it is not information FPD possesses or tracks
4. The Frederick police Department has no responsive documents related to suspensions or revocations of residential rental licenses.
5. POLICE CALLS, REPORTS, CITATIONS....- IF ARE REQUESTING DATA FROM 9/1/2021 -9/30/23 MS WIVEL, OUR EXCESSIVE USE OF POLICE SERVICES ADMIN ESTIMATES IT WILL TAKE HER APPROXIMATELY TWO WEEKS TO COMPILE AND REVIEW THE DATA AT ESTIMATED HOURLY RATE CHARGE (AFTER 2 HRS) OF $1,264.00
6.FPD has no responsive documents related to meeting minutes, correspondence between municipality officials etc.
7. FPD has no responsive documents - no changes have been made during the timeframe August 2021-August 2023. Please respond and let us know if you are interested in obtaining the materials related to #6 of your request and, if so, we will prepare a formal invoice for billing purposes.  Payment is required prior to release of documents. Thank you, Dana Kelly
Records Manager

--- Please respond above this line ---
RE: Police Records Request of September 13, 2023, Reference # P000534-091323 Dear Jenny Wadhwa, The City of Frederick Police Department received a public records request from you on September 13, 2023 for certain records under the Maryland Public Information Act, Annotate Code of Maryland, General Provisions Article ("GP), Section 4-101 et seq.  In particular, you are seeking all records in my custody and control pertaining to the following: We have received no additional response from you following our correspondence dated 1/1/2024.  Your request has been administratively closed. For questions or additional information, please reply to this email. Sincerely, Dana Kelly
Records Manager