Mayor Dave Kaplan Emails
It is a clone of this request.
| Submitted | May 9, 2018 |
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Communications
From: Taylor Amarel
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Iowa Open Records Law, I hereby request the following records:
I would like to obtain all emails sent to, from, or copied to Mayor Dave Kaplan, from January 1, 2012 to Present day containing any of the following non-case-sensitive key-strings: "EB-5", "EB5", "Regional Center", "USCIS" or "Fraud";
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 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Taylor Amarel
From: Des Moines City Clerk
Dear Taylor Amarel,
The City of Des Moines, Iowa is in receipt of your recent Open Records Request dated May 9, 2018.
Your request states: "I would like to obtain all emails sent to, from, or copied to Mayor Dave Kaplan, from January 1, 2012 to Present day containing any of the following non-case-sensitive key-strings: 'EB-5', 'EB5', 'Regional Center', 'USCIS' or 'Fraud.'"
Please be advised that Mayor Dave Kaplan is not the Mayor of the City of Des Moines, Iowa, but appears to be the Mayor of the City of Des Moines, Washington. Will you please clarify that your request is meant to go to the City of Des Moines, Iowa, as directed?
Lisa Mickey
Open Records Coordinator
Phone: 515-283-4566
Email: lmmickey@dmgov.org<mailto:lmmickey@dmgov.org>
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From: Taylor Amarel
Thank you for the notification and apologies for the clerical error. I would like to obtain the emails of Frank Cownie.
Sorry for the confusion.
From: Des Moines City Clerk
Dear Requestor,
This will confirm receipt of your open records request on behalf of MuckRock News, dated May 9, 2018. An assessment is underway to determine staff services and costs to fulfill this request.
According to the policy of the City of Des Moines, the first 15 minutes of staff time towards determining and fulfilling a request is without charge; however, staff time spent on a records search beyond 15 minutes is calculated by multiplying the base hourly wage of all of the employees who work on the request times the number of hours spent on the search to the nearest one-half hour increment. Fees are charged for copying, faxing, document scanning, CDs, postage and other costs when applicable. A deposit of one-half of the estimated cost of fulfillment must be submitted to the City of Des Moines prior to further staff time being expended on the search. It is anticipated that an estimate will be available within the next week and, once available, it will be forwarded to you for payment. The remainder due will be calculated by the actual amount of time expended and any copy fees, etc., required to fulfill the request and will be due prior to receiving the documents.
In the meantime, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Thank you,
Lisa Mickey
Open Records Coordinator
Phone: 515-283-4566
Email: lmmickey@dmgov.org<mailto:lmmickey@dmgov.org>
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From: Taylor Amarel
Thank you very much. I look forward to receiving the documents. Please let me know how much it will cost.
From: Des Moines City Clerk
Dear Requestor,
In an effort to obtain an estimate for the emails you requested in your Open Records Request of May 9, 2018, the City's IT Department performed a preliminary search according to the criteria you provided. Unfortunately, the initial search criteria returned 1.3 million results (425BG of data). A search and review according to the parameters you have requested would most likely make fulfillment of this request cost-prohibitive to you.
You have defined very vague key strings to this search and also requested a timeline of more than six years. We believe both of these parameters could be more clearly defined. At this time, the City would like to give you the opportunity to define the parameters of your request to greatly reduce the amount of data and the estimated time it will take to search and review such data.
If you wish to change the search criteria, please provide the new parameters at your earliest convenience. If you do not wish to further pursue this request, please send a responsive email accordingly.
Regards,
Lisa Mickey
Open Records Coordinator
Phone: 515-283-4566
Email: lmmickey@dmgov.org<mailto:lmmickey@dmgov.org>
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From: Taylor Amarel
Thank you very much, would it be possible to limit my search to just the following key-phrase: "EB-5".
Depending on the results of that, I may want to narrow it further.
Thank you.
From: Des Moines City Clerk
Dear Requestor,
As suggested, we used the limited search phrase "EB-5," and it returned back 618,865 items (190.34 BG).
Please let us know how you would like to proceed.
Regards,
Lisa Mickey
Open Records Coordinator
Phone: 515-283-4566
Email: lmmickey@dmgov.org<mailto:lmmickey@dmgov.org>
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From: Taylor Amarel
Wow, thank you so much for the searches and information.
Would it be possible to have the first 100 pages of records that have the key string "eb-5" from November 1, 2016 to February 25, 2017.
If possible, I'm interested in actual email correspondence and not newsletters or subscriptions.
Thanks so much!
From: Des Moines City Clerk
Dear Requestor:
The City's IT Department estimates the search may take up to 1 1/2 hours of staff time, for a cost of $64.74. I estimate my time to review 100 records once they are compiled to take approximately 1/2 hour resulting for an estimated cost of $16.54. Therefore the total estimated cost equals $81.28. Your approval is required to initiate this step by providing payment of 50% of the total estimated cost of staff time to fulfill the request.
I would ask, however, that you clarify if you want the first 100 compiled emails (earliest) or the last 100 compiled emails (most recent) before any search begins.
Please confirm your continued interest in pursuing your request by sending a check made payable to the City of Des Moines in the amount of $40.64 to my attention: Lisa Mickey, Open Records Coordinator, Des Moines City Hall, 400 Robert D. Ray Drive, Des Moines, Iowa 50309. Once payment is received, a search of any records responsive to your request can begin. The remainder due will be calculated by the actual amount of time required to fulfill the request, along with any production costs, and will be due prior to receiving the documents.
Please be advised that this request will only remain open for 60 days. After 60 days, your request will be closed and you will need to resubmit the request if you decide to proceed at a later date. If you do not wish to pursue this request, an email in that regard would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Lisa Mickey
Open Records Coordinator
Phone: 515-283-4566
Email: lmmickey@dmgov.org<mailto:lmmickey@dmgov.org>
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From: Taylor Amarel
I confirm my ability to pay and also would like to clarify that I would like to obtain the most recent emails.
Many thanks.
From: Des Moines City Clerk
I will look forward to receiving your one-half payment of the estimate.
Lisa Mickey
Open Records Coordinator
Phone: 515-283-4566
Email: lmmickey@dmgov.org<mailto:lmmickey@dmgov.org>
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From: Taylor Amarel
Hello, the initial payment has been successfully raised. For your reference, you can view: https://www.muckrock.com/foi/des-moines-13988/mayor-dave-kaplan-emails-53542/, a check will be sent by the MockRock platform shortly.
From: Caitlin Russell
To Whom It May Concern:
Please find enclosed a check for $81.28 to satisfy the fee associated with the attached public records request.
Thank you.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Iowa Open Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 9, 2018. 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: Des Moines City Clerk
I hope to email the requested records to you by the close of business tomorrow, July 10th. If there will be any delay, I will let you know.
Lisa Mickey
Open Records Coordinator
Phone: 515-283-4566
Email: lmmickey@dmgov.org<mailto:lmmickey@dmgov.org>
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From: Des Moines City Clerk
Fulfillment of your request is not yet complete. As promised, I am providing you with notice of delay of my previous time estimate.
The documents will be provided to you immediately upon completion.
Thank you,
Lisa Mickey
Open Records Coordinator
Phone: 515-283-4566
Email: lmmickey@dmgov.org<mailto:lmmickey@dmgov.org>
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From:
Please see the attached for documents responsive to your open
records request to the City of Des Moines dated May 9, 2018.
Within this file, you will find some pages blacked out, all of
which are attachments of emails consisting of draft documents
which are deemed confidential according to Iowa Code Chapter
22.7(65).
As requested, all emails labeled "commercial" were omitted and
the first 100 emails to the search term "EB-5" which were not
privileged are attached.
Please note that you will need to download the attached file
before it expires on July 25, 2018.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Sincerely,
Lisa Mickey
Open Records Coordinator
The following files are attached to this message:
- MuckRock Produced_Redacted.pdf (105 MB), Checksum: bc40979aa4b4bc5b850a1c2917eec59c953b56102ac9cf54048347f87e3e0180
Please click on the following link to download the attachments:
https://cdmlft.dmgov.org/message/sqc7M7garTfXoSmt923fGc
This email or download link can not be forwarded to anyone else.
The attachments are available until: Wednesday, 25 July
Message ID: sqc7M7garTfXoSmt923fGc
From: Des Moines City Clerk
Validate Email Address
======================
Email validation to download secure attachment at CDMLFT.CDMGOV.ORG.
Please click on the following link to view the message:
https://cdmlft.dmgov.org/session/email/lEGZuf4SMCrJLAV7lNE8JP
Or alternatively, enter this validation codein the browser window where you entered your
email address:
lEGZuf4SMCrJLAV7lNE8JP
This code and link is valid for 1 hour from the request, until 00:12. Please click on the original link in the message email if the link has expired to request a
new validation email.
From: Taylor Amarel
Hi Lisa, when I click on the download link I am directed to a blank page. Is there anything else I can try to download the files?
https://cdmlft.dmgov.org/message/sqc7M7garTfXoSmt923fGc is the correct link right?
From: Muckrock Staff
Dear Miss. Mickey,
The secure messaging system you're using to attempt to release these records is quite simply making it more difficult to access these records, which we've already paid over $80. It's unnecessary to use such a secure system to release records that will be made widely available to the public, and really just makes it look as though your office has no real commitment to transparency, or any issue with obfuscating public documents. Please provide the requested documents outlined in the request copied in PDF form in an email attachment, or provide a similarly simple method for obtaining them. Thank you for your assistance, and should you feel the need to contact MuckRock you can reach our office at 617-299-1832.
Caitlin Russell
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To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Iowa Open Records Law, I hereby request the following records:
I would like to obtain all emails sent to, from, or copied to Mayor Dave Kaplan, from January 1, 2012 to Present day containing any of the following non-case-sensitive key-strings: "EB-5", "EB5", "Regional Center", "USCIS" or "Fraud";
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 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Taylor Amarel
From: Des Moines City Clerk
Dear Ms. Russell,
The secure messaging system the City of Des Moines uses to send records serves more than one purpose: Other than security, this system allows us to send large files/attachments that are too large to send through our regular email system, such as the response to your request. This system is regularly used for fulfillment of documents to requestors without issue.
There are a couple of other ways we can try to get the documents to you. First, if you would like me to send the response to another email address, you can provide me with one and we can try that. Otherwise, I could possibly try breaking down the response into an unknown number of smaller emails and send them that way.
Lastly, the estimate previously quoted to you, and which has been paid, took into account that the response would be forwarded to you via email. However, if you wish, you may opt to receive the files on disc, via U.S. Mail. If this is your preference, please provide additional payment of $5.00 for the disc, and $3.00 for estimated fees to mail the disc, for a total of $8.00 to my attention: Lisa Mickey, Open Records Coordinator, City of Des Moines Legal, 400 Robert Dr. Ray Drive, Des Moines, Iowa 50309. Please also provide the name and address to whom you wish the disc to be mailed.
Please let me know how you would like to proceed.
Thank you,
Lisa Mickey
Open Records Coordinator
Phone: 515-283-4566
Email: lmmickey@dmgov.org<mailto:lmmickey@dmgov.org>
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From: Caitlin Russell
Hello,
Can you please snd the documents to caitlin@muckrock.com? If that doesn't work we can do it through the postal service. Thanks so much for all your help!
From: Taylor Amarel
To Whom It May Concern:
Please find enclosed a check for $8.00 to satisfy the fee associated with the attached public records request.
Thank you.
From: Des Moines City Clerk
A copy of documents responsive to the request.
From: Muckrock Staff
To Whom It May Concern:
I wanted to follow up on the following Iowa Open Records Law request, copied below, and originally submitted on May 9, 2018. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response.
Thanks for your help, and let me know if further clarification is needed.
Files
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