Executive Session Minutes (Middlesex County) (City Clerk)
| Submitted | Oct. 25, 2016 |
MuckRock users can file, duplicate, track, and share public records requests like this one. Learn more.
Communications
From: Caitlin Russell
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L. c.66, ยง10, I hereby request the following records:
Pursuant to Massachusetts General Law Chapter 66, Section 10, I'm requesting all executive session minutes generated, by the Board of Selectmen for the years 2010 through the of end 2015.
Massachusetts law requires that executive session minutes be reviewed and released regularly, and that once the stated purpose for a particular executive session has ended, the minutes of the executive sessions are to be made public.
Please be advised that denial of this request, or redactions made to released materials must be accompanied by citations of the exemptions you believe allow you to withhold the information requested.
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,
Caitlin Russell
From: Pappenheim, Hannah
Dear Ms. Russell,
I write in response to your public records request, which was emailed to the City Clerk's office on October 25, 2016. Your request seeks "all executive session minutes generated, by the Board of Selectmen for the years 2010 through 2015." While the City of Lowell does not have a "Board of Selectman" your request has been interpreted as a request for executive session minutes generated by Lowell's City Council. See 950 CMR 32.05(4) ("A custodian's superior knowledge of the contents of a governmental entity's files shall be used to assist in promptly complying with the request.")
Please be advised that your request is currently under review. However, given the magnitude of your request, namely executive session minutes that date back to 2010, the City of Lowell will not be able fulfill your request within ten (10) days. See Globe Newspaper Co. v. Commissioner of Education, 439 Mass. 124, 132 n. 12 (2003) (noting the magnitude of some requests may be too cumbersome to complete in ten days).
In addition, please note that while collection and review is still underway, some minutes may be withheld due to a continuing lawful purpose of executive session. As you may be aware, M.G.L. c. 30A, Section 22(f) provides that minutes of any executive session may be withheld as long as publication may defeat the lawful purposes of the executive session. Therefore, depending on the purpose of the executive session for each set of minutes, certain documents may still need to be withheld.
Lastly, your request asks that the documents be provided in an "accessible format, including for screen readers, which would require text-to-speech for persons unable to read print." A records custodian is only obliged to provide access to existing files, and is not required to create new documents or to provide documents in new formats. See M.G.L. c. 4 Section 7(26); see also 32 Op. Att'y Gen. 157, 165 (May 18, 1977) (custodian is not obliged to create a record in response to a request for information; the Public Records law and Regulations only apply to existing records). Therefore, we will provide any responsive documents in the format in which they exist.
Once we have had a chance to retrieve and review those records responsive to your request, an additional response will be sent.
Please do not hesitate to contact the Law Department should you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Hannah Pappenheim
Hannah Pappenheim | Assistant City Solicitor
City of Lowell - Law Department
City Hall, 375 Merrimack Street, 3rd Floor | Lowell, MA 01852-5909
Tel: 978.674.4050 | Fax: 978.453.1510 | http://www.lowellma.gov<http://www.lowellma.gov/>
This message and the documents attached to it, if any, are intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain information that is PRIVILEGED and CONFIDENTIAL and/or may contain ATTORNEY WORK PRODUCT. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please delete all electronic copies of this message and its attachments, if any, and destroy any hard copies that you may have created and notify the Sender via email or telephone.
LOWELL Alive. Unique. Inspiring.
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 25, 2016. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 25, 2016. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Pappenheim, Hannah
Dear Ms. Russell,
Please find attached the public records responsive to your 10/25/16 request to the City Clerk's office. As discussed in my previous email, these minutes reflect all the executive session minutes for the time period requested that have been voted by City Council to be released to the public, as the executive session no longer serves its purpose.
Please note that any fees associated with this request have been waived.
If you would like to appeal this response, you may do so at the address below:
Public Records Division
Secretary of the Commonwealth
One Ashburton Place, Room 1719
Boston, MA 02108
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Hannah Pappenheim | Assistant City Solicitor
City of Lowell - Law Department
City Hall, 375 Merrimack Street, 3rd Floor | Lowell, MA 01852-5909
Tel: 978.674.4050 | Fax: 978.453.1510 | http://www.lowellma.gov<http://www.lowellma.gov/>
This message and the documents attached to it, if any, are intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain information that is PRIVILEGED and CONFIDENTIAL and/or may contain ATTORNEY WORK PRODUCT. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please delete all electronic copies of this message and its attachments, if any, and destroy any hard copies that you may have created and notify the Sender via email or telephone.
LOWELL Alive. Unique. Inspiring.
From: Caitlin Russell
Thank you for your response. Can you tell me the dates of the meeting minutes that are being withheld? Thanks!
Caitlin
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 25, 2016. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: MuckRock.com
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on Oct. 25, 2016. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
From: Pappenheim, Hannah
Good Afternoon Ms. Russell,
I write in response to your follow-up request regarding your public records request for executive session minutes. The City responded to your request on November 16, 2016, attaching all of the public records responsive to your request that the City Council voted could be released to the public.
You subsequently contacted the clerk's office looking for additional minutes that have not been reviewed and released by the City Council. MGL cl 30A Section 22(f) provides that minutes of any executive session may be withheld as long as publication may defeat the lawful purposes of the executive session. Therefore, the additional minutes that you requested are currently under review, to see if the purpose for the executive session still applies. After this review, if there are any minutes that no longer require executive session, those minutes will be put before the City Council, so that the Council may vote on the records' release.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Sincerely,
Hannah
Hannah Pappenheim | Assistant City Solicitor
City of Lowell - Law Department
City Hall, 375 Merrimack Street, 3rd Floor | Lowell, MA 01852-5909
Tel: 978.674.4050 | Fax: 978.453.1510 | http://www.lowellma.gov<http://www.lowellma.gov/>
This message and the documents attached to it, if any, are intended only for the use of the addressee and may contain information that is PRIVILEGED and CONFIDENTIAL and/or may contain ATTORNEY WORK PRODUCT. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any dissemination of this communication is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please delete all electronic copies of this message and its attachments, if any, and destroy any hard copies that you may have created and notify the Sender via email or telephone.
LOWELL Alive. Unique. Inspiring.
Files
pages