Collaboration with OIC
It is a clone of this request.
| Submitted | July 28, 2021 |
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Communications
From: Hal Flak
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Ohio Open Records Law, I hereby request the following records:
E-mails under the control of the City of Oakwood, deleted or not, within the last 5 months sent to or received from addresses belonging to any of the following senders OR recipients, irrespective of which account in which the message resides:
Kristi Hale, Judy Cook, Samuel Dorf, Jeremy Newport, Madeline Iseli, Healy Jackson, Leigh Ann Fulford, Roger Crum, Dan Turben, Kyle Ramey
Please note that “if a court determines that the public office or the person responsible for public records failed to comply … the relator shall be entitled to an award of all court costs and may receive an award of attorney fees and/or statutory damages” and that destruction of records is a violation of ORC 149.351.
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.
Sincerely,
Hal Flak
From: City Of Oakwood
This response is from Robert Jacques, Law Director for the city of Oakwood. I understand that you sent a similar request for public records to Wright Memorial Library. I do not represent the library but have been authorized to send this initial response on behalf of both the city and library, acknowledging receipt of your request to both entities.
Please be advised that both the city of Oakwood and the Wright Memorial Library are unable to identify responsive records without additional information from the requester. Specifically, the request we received is vague, overbroad, and identifies records in a different manner than the manner in which they are stored or indexed. A public office may deny a public records request if it cannot reasonably identify what public records are being requested. (State ex rel. Thomas v. Ohio State Univ. (1994), 71 Ohio St.3d 245; State ex rel. Oriana House Inc., v. Betty D. Montgomery, 2005 Ohio 3377 (Tenth Dist., 2005); and State ex rel. Evans v. City of Parma, 2003 Ohio 1159 (Eight Dist., 2003).) Also, a public records custodian who uses an indexing system that is different than, and inconsistent with, a public records request has no duty to respond to a request that does not comport with the indexing system, as such request is invalid. (State ex rel. Zauderer v. Joseph, 62 Ohio App.3d 752 (10th Dist, 1989); State ex rel. Evans v. City of Parma, supra.)
Specific issues with your request include the following, with requests for clarification as appropriate:
1. Your request identifies the sender and recipient of certain emails by name, rather than by email address. It is possible that some named individuals may have more than one email address, which we would not know. It is also possible that emails have been sent or received with an email address but without a name, and searching via name will not retrieve those emails. We are unable to identify all responsive records unless you indicate the specific email addresses you would like us to search.
2. Your request references "Collaboration with OIC" in the subject line, and I note that the named individuals are all involved with OIC in some capacity. However, nothing in your request limits the scope to OIC-related emails, and employees of the city, library, and local schools regularly correspond about many subjects of mutual concern. In other words, if you are merely seeking OIC-related emails, there is likely to be a lot of unnecessary correspondence captured by your request, all of which will take time to review for legally-required redactions. If you can narrow the scope of your request in this regard, it would likely be beneficial to you as the requester and to us as we work to identify responsive documents.
3. Your request is limited to responsive emails sent or received "within the last 5 months." However, no specific date range was given. Unless you instruct us otherwise, we intend to identify responsive records using the 5 month period from February 28, 2021, to July 29, 2021.
4. Although not required, please provide a telephone number for the requester if you are willing to do so, or feel free to contact me at (937) 298-0600 to discuss your request. We can likely clarify the scope of the request more quickly with a brief phone call, rather than sending back-and-forth emails through an online portal system.
From: Hal Flak
Dear Mr. Jacques:
Thank you for your reply on behalf of the City of Oakwood and Wright Memorial Public Library.
In regards to # 1 in your reply:
Please amend the request to include all the public record e-mail request with the following search terms in the subject, body, or any other searchable component in the e-mail public record:
“Kristi Hale” OR "Hale" OR “Judy Cook” OR “Samuel Dorf”, OR "Dorf" OR “Jeremy Newport”, OR “Madeline Iseli” OR "Iseli" OR “Healy Jackson” OR “Leigh Ann Fulford” OR “Fulford” OR “Roger Crum” OR "Crum" OR “Dan Turben” OR “Turben” OR “Kyle Ramey” OR “Ramey” OR “hale@wrightlibrary.org” OR “sdorf1@udayton.edu” OR “madeline.iseli@gmail.com” OR “healyjackson@gmail.com” OR “ladfulford@gmail.com” OR “ramey.kyle@oakwoodschools.org”
Please add in respect to Wright Memorial Public Library public-record e-mails, not Oakwood:
OR “klopsch@oakwood.oh.us”
These Boolean search terms should be readily applicable to any modern e-mail system to include but not limited to Microsoft Outlook e-mail. As these terms are readily computer searchable, they are within the “manner in which they are stored or indexed”.
This request is not “vague, [or] overbroad”, as the search terms are precise and delimited in both time and subject. If you deny this request as overbroad, after appeal, request will be separated into multiple requests with more narrow delimiters. It may be easier to process as one request with multiple search terms rather than multiple requests with single search terms.
Furthermore, the request is for computer searchable data only, and therefore easily identifiable in regards to the public records being requested.
All modern e-mail systems are indexable by Boolean search terms and therefore this request is not inconsistent with the manner in which the public-record e-mail messages are indexed.
In regards to #2 in your reply:
As Dr. Kyle Ramey, Kristi Hale, and Norbert Klopsch are all members of the OIC as well as employed by the Oakwood School District, Wright Memorial Public Library, and Oakwood City respectively, including Kristi Hale being the chair of the OIC, including unrelated e-mails will by consequence be unavoidable in order to obtain a relatively complete record.
The only applicable redaction per 149.43 are “Medical records”, “Records pertaining to probation and parole proceedings …”, “2919.121 Unlawful abortion upon minor …”, “2151.85 Unmarried, unemancipated minor may seek abortion without notice to parent …”, Records pertaining to adoption proceedings …”, “information in a record contained in the putative father registry …”, health records, DNA records, inmate records …, “Records maintained by the department of youth services …”, intellectual property records, donor profile records, “Records maintained by the department of job and family services …”, “Designated public service worker residential and familial information …”, “In the case of a county hospital …”, “Information pertaining to the recreational activities of a person under the age of eighteen”, “In the case of a child fatality review board …”, “Records provided to and statements made by the executive director of a public children services agency …”, “Test materials, examinations, or evaluation tools used in an examination for licensure as a nursing home administrator …”, “Records the release of which is prohibited by state or federal law …”, venture capital, financial statements, day-care records …, housing authority data, military discharge records, “Usage information including names and addresses of specific residential and commercial customers of a municipally owned or operated public utility …”, “Contract with development services agency …”, lethal injection …, Section 149.45 information (personally identifiable information such as social security numbers), sexual assault related information under 111.41, specified military service information, minor information, sexually explicit data, body-worn camera data that is restricted, fetal-infant review data, pregnancy-associated restricted data, victim data, investigation data, trial preparation data, and certain police data …
None of these exceptions should reasonably apply to the requested data aside from personally identifiable information such as addresses or social security numbers that usually would not included in public record e-mails.
In regards to # 3 of your reply:
Please amend the request to 2 August 2021 to 28 February 2021.
In regards to # 4 of your reply:
Due to the nature of the request for public sector employee public-record e-mail messages, written communication in regards to compliance or reasons for denial of the request is preferred to create a written record.
Additionally,
As you are in regular communication with the local schools per above, please note that the Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Kyle Ramey (ramey.kyle@oakwoodschools.org) is currently non-responsive to an Ohio Public Records Request made to the Oakwood Public School District regarding different search terms. Kindly as part of your ongoing communication, please inform Dr. Kyle Ramey of his responsibilities to be responsive to Ohio Public Records Requests, as so far the Oakwood City and Wright Memorial Public Library have been responsive.
Thank you for your time and attention in this matter.
From: City Of Oakwood
Thank you for your response.
Your original requests to the City and Library were for emails, under the respective control of the City of Oakwood or Wright Library, deleted or not, within the last 5 months sent to or received from addresses belonging to any of the following senders OR recipients, irrespective of which account in which the message resides: Kristi Hale, Judy Cook, Samuel Dorf, Jeremy Newport, Madeline Iseli, Healy Jackson, Leigh Ann Fulford, Roger Crum, Dan Turben, Kyle Ramey."
Based upon the clarifying information you provided, the City will perform electronic searches only, using the following boolean terms instead:
“Kristi Hale” OR "Hale" OR “Judy Cook” OR “Samuel Dorf”, OR "Dorf" OR “Jeremy Newport”, OR “Madeline Iseli” OR "Iseli" OR “Healy Jackson” OR “Leigh Ann Fulford” OR “Fulford” OR “Roger Crum” OR "Crum" OR “Dan Turben” OR “Turben” OR “Kyle Ramey” OR “Ramey” OR “hale@wrightlibrary.org” OR “sdorf1@udayton.edu” OR “madeline.iseli@gmail.com” OR “healyjackson@gmail.com” OR “ladfulford@gmail.com” OR “ramey.kyle@oakwoodschools.org.”
You are asking the Library to run the same searches, plus an additional search using the klopsch@oakwood.oh.us email address.
These searches will be run using a date range of February 28, 2021 through August 2, 2021, inclusive.
Please note that responding offices are required to review the materials for redaction before releasing them, even though you have stated that "none of these exceptions should reasonably apply to the requested data." In fact, there are a number of exceptions and exemptions under the Ohio Public Records Act, including several types of information not included on the list of "applicable" redactions you provided. This review will be performed once we have identified responsive records. We will then be in touch with you to discuss costs (if any) and production of the requested records.
From: City Of Oakwood
Please be advised that the City has completed our searches to identify potentially responsive records. They must be reviewed for redaction prior to release, which will take some time given the large volume of potentially responsive emails involved. That process has begun and I will be back in touch when it is complete. I will provide status updates as appropriate.
Also, please be advised that I initially responded on behalf of both the City and Library, as a courtesy due to the similarity of the requests. Now that we have moved past the request itself, and have begun the process of identifying and producing records, it is my understanding that the Library will be communicating with you directly on their own behalf.
From: Hal Flak
Thank you for your reply and assistance in furthering government transparency which increases trust in government.
“A popular government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or a tragedy; or, perhaps both.” - James Madison, 1832
From: City Of Oakwood
Progress update: review and redaction is approximately 70% complete and should be finished on Monday 8/16/2021. Allowing time to scan and upload the results, we anticipate fulfilling this request by Wednesday 8/18/2021.
From: Hal Flak
Thank you for the update and responsiveness.
If you can assist, please encourage the Oakwood Schools to meet their obligation under the Open Records Act, as they are not being responsive. This creates the appearance of impropriety.
I am intent on following the school record request to completion, and in the absence of communication will move on to the next step.
Again, thank you for the update.
From: City Of Oakwood
Progress update: review and redaction is 100% complete and results are being scanned. We anticipate fulfilling this request by Wednesday 8/18/2021.
From: City Of Oakwood
I am attaching records responsive to this request. Due to the volume of records being produced, they will likely have to be uploaded in several batches, and I will include progress notes with each upload.
Please note that redactions are coded R1, R2, or R3. These notations correspond to exemptions and/or exceptions under the Ohio Public Records Act as follows:
R1: Bank account numbers. Ohio Rev. Code 149.43(A)(1)(dd).
R2: Social Security numbers (SSNs). Ohio Rev. Code 149.43(A)(1)(dd); See alsoState ex rel. Montgomery Cty. Pub. Defender v. Siroki, 108 Ohio St.3d 207 (2006); State ex rel. Beacon Journal Publishing v. Akron, 70 Ohio St.3d 6-5 (1994).
R3: Attorney-Client privileged information. Ohio Rev. Code 149.43(A)(1)(v); See also State ex rel. Leslie v. Ohio Hous. Fin. Agency, 105 Ohio St.3d 261 (2005).
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4_PR.pdf
There are too many files to display on this communication. See all files
From: City Of Oakwood
The first batch, above, included files "1_PR" through "11_PR", inclusive. This is the second batch, including files "N1" through "N16", inclusive.
There are too many files to display on this communication. See all files
From: City Of Oakwood
This is the third batch, including files "N17" through "N24", inclusive.
From: City Of Oakwood
This is the fourth and final batch of records responsive to this request, including files "N25" through "N31", inclusive.
From: City Of Oakwood
If any of the listed files did not upload properly or are inaccessible for any reason, please advise. Otherwise we will consider our response to this request to be complete.
Thank you.
From: City Of Oakwood
Sir, I just realized that I uploaded all of these documents to the wrong request. This thread is your second request, but the records I uploaded are responsive to your first request.
Just to clarify, the records herein are all public records responsive to your first request (multiple boolean searches for specific names and email addresses for a specific 5 month period). Please advise if you need me to upload them to the correct request, but I would prefer not to duplicate the work unless necessary.
Records responsive to your second request (emails to/from a single account for a specific 1 month period) have not been identified, reviewed, redacted, or provided at this time.
From: Hal Flak
Hi,
Thanks so much for your help with this request! I really appreciate it. This files are available.
Sincerely,
Hal Flak
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