Gas leaks policies and data - Middlesex County (Hopkinton Town Clerk)

Dear Beryl Lipton,

I wanted to reach out and inform you we have received your request dated
January 24th, 2017. The previous request was never received which makes me
think it might have been sent to an incorrect email address. I also wanted
to inform you that under the new public records law, the time was changed
to be 10 business days rather than calendar days. So, we will actually
have until Tuesday, February 7th to respond. Also, under the new law,
electronically transmitted copies are not charged, so the content volume
will already have no fee. But we may charge for the time it takes, that
will match the hourly rate of the lowest paid employees able to complete
the task, not to be in excess of $25 per hour unless a waiver is granted by
the Supervisor of Records. Please let me know if you have any questions in
the meantime, we will have your request prepared as soon as able.

Sincerely,
*Connor B. Degan*
Town Clerk
Town Clerk's Office
Town of Hopkinton
18 Main Street
Hopkinton, MA 01748
Phone: 508-497-9710 <(508)%20497-9710>
Fax: 508-497-9786 <(508)%20497-9786>
Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Tuesday 8:00 am to 7:00 pm
Friday 8:00 am to 2:00 pm

*Please Note: When writing or responding, please be aware that the
Secretary of State has determined that most email is a public record and,
therefore, may not be kept confidential.*

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <requests@muckrock.com>
Date: Tue, Jan 24, 2017 at 7:18 PM
Subject: Public Records Law Request: Gas leaks policies and data -
Middlesex County (Hopkinton Town Clerk)
To: townclerk@hopkintonma.gov

January 24, 2017
Hopkinton Town Clerk
Town Clerk 18 Main Street Hopkinton MA 01748

This is a follow up to a previous request:

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L. c.66, §10, I
hereby request the following records:

Any and all directive materials and data regarding the location and repair
of gas leaks within this municipality.

Please include any ordinances, policies, procedures, or related materials
regarding:

• the necessity of gas companies to report existing gas leaks to municipal
officials
• the necessity of gas companies to survey areas for the existence of gas
leaks
• the necessity of gas companies to repair known gas leaks

Please also include any data, statistics, maps, and other materials
detailing the location and severity of known gas leaks in the areas under
the jurisdiction of this municipality. Please include any data acquired
from the Department of Public Utilities regarding gas leaks within this
municipality.

Please include all requests from gas companies for construction and digging
related to gas leaks.

Please include all requests for repair made by this municipality to
companies regarding gas leaks. Please also provide all responses.

Please provide all data, statistics, maps, and other materials regarding
the decay or destruction of trees and other foliage in relation to the
presence of gas leaks.

If further clarification is necessary, please contact the MuckRock office
at 617-299-1832 <(617)%20299-1832>.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this
request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the
recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The
requested documents will be made available to the general public free of
charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed
by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of
news gathering and not for commercial usage.

I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for
screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read
print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for
example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.

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,

Beryl Lipton
---

On Jan. 5, 2017:
To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L. c.66, §10, I
hereby request the following records:

Any and all directive materials and data regarding the location and repair
of gas leaks within this municipality.

Please include any ordinances, policies, procedures, or related materials
regarding:

• the necessity of gas companies to report existing gas leaks to municipal
officials
• the necessity of gas companies to survey areas for the existence of gas
leaks
• the necessity of gas companies to repair known gas leaks

Please also include any data, statistics, maps, and other materials
detailing the location and severity of known gas leaks in the areas under
the jurisdiction of this municipality. Please include any data acquired
from the Department of Public Utilities regarding gas leaks within this
municipality.

Please include all requests from gas companies for construction and digging
related to gas leaks.

Please include all requests for repair made by this municipality to
companies regarding gas leaks. Please also provide all responses.

Please provide all data, statistics, maps, and other materials regarding
the decay or destruction of trees and other foliage in relation to the
presence of gas leaks.

If further clarification is necessary, please contact the MuckRock office
at 617-299-1832 <(617)%20299-1832>.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as we believe this
request is in the public interest, as suggested but not stipulated by the
recommendations of the Massachusetts Supervisor of Public Records. The
requested documents will be made available to the general public free of
charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed
by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of
news gathering and not for commercial usage.

I expect the request to be filled in an accessible format, including for
screen readers, which provide text-to-speech for persons unable to read
print. Files that are not accessible to screen readers include, for
example, .pdf image files as well as physical documents.

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,

Beryl Lipton

------
Filed via MuckRock.com
E-mail (Preferred): requests@muckrock.com

For mailed responses, please address (see note):
MuckRock
DEPT MR 31639
411A Highland Ave
Somerville, MA 02144-2516

PLEASE NOTE: This request was filed by a MuckRock staff reporter. Also note
that improperly addressed (i.e., with the requester's name rather than
"MuckRock News" and the department number) requests might be returned as
undeliverable.
------

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Dear Beryl Lipton:

Attached you will find scans of all of the requested records in our files.
For local regulations/ordinances related to gas lines please refer to the
following chapters in our Town By-Laws: 24, 119, 172, and 206 of the
general by-laws and chapter 210 (zoning by-laws) available on our website (
http://www.hopkintonma.gov/home/government/documents/bylaws). For any
further information on gas infrastructure in town, please contact the local
firms that manage gas pipelines and facilities in the Town. As previously
stated, there is no cost for the electronic copies and the time that it
took to acquire these was under on hour for all departments involved so we
are waiving any per hour costs. Thank you very much for your patience,
have a great day.

Sincerely,
*Connor B. Degan*
Town Clerk
Town Clerk's Office
Town of Hopkinton
18 Main Street
Hopkinton, MA 01748
Phone: 508-497-9710
Fax: 508-497-9786
Office Hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday 8:00 am to 4:30 pm
Tuesday 8:00 am to 7:00 pm
Friday 8:00 am to 2:00 pm

*Please Note: When writing or responding, please be aware that the
Secretary of State has determined that most email is a public record and,
therefore, may not be kept confidential.*

--

------------------------------
All email messages and attached content sent from and to this email account
are public records unless qualified as an exemption under the *Massachusetts
Public Records Law <http://www.sec.state.ma.us/pre/preidx.htm>*.

*[image: Follow and Subscribe]
<http://www.hopkintonma.gov/home/about/follow>*
Visit us online at *www.hopkintonma.gov <http://www.hopkintonma.gov>.*