Executive Session Minutes (Plymouth County) (Whitman Town Clerk)
| Submitted | Oct. 25, 2016 |
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Communications
From: Caitlin Russell
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L. c.66, §10, I hereby request the following records:
To whom it may concern,
Pursuant to Massachusetts General Law Chapter 66, Section 10, I'm requesting all executive session minutes generated, by the Swansea 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. Once released, I plan to make the information available to the public online, free of charge.
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: Caitlin Russell
My apologies for the error in my previous email in which I requested Swansea's board minutes. I'm seeking the executive session minutes produced by the town of Whitman's board of selectmen for the years 2010-2015. Thank you.
Caitlin Russell
From: Varley.Dawn
I have forwarded your request to the Town Administrator Frank Lynam. I am sure you will be hearing back from him soon.
Take Care.
Dawn M. Varley, CMC
Whitman Town Clerk
Justice of the Peace, Notary Public
Commission to Qualify
54 South Avenue
P.O. Box 426
Whitman, MA 02382
781-618-9710 (work)
781-664-8087 (cell)
Dawn.varley@whitman-ma.gov
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image001
From: Lynam.Frank
Caitlin Russell
requests@muckrock.com<mailto:requests@muckrock.com>
Dear Ms. Russell,
This correspondence confirms that the Town of Whitman (the "Town") is in receipt of your email dated October 27, 2016 to the Whitman Town Clerk pursuant to the Massachusetts Public Records Law, M.G.L. c 66, §10, requesting the following:
The executive session minutes produced by the town of Whitman's board of selectmen for the years 2010-2015
Be advised that at this particular time the Town has no documents which are responsive to your request as, to date, the Board of Selectmen has not reviewed and voted to release any executive session minutes from the years 2010 through 2015.]
In further response to your public records request, the Town has developed and implemented a process to review minutes from all Board of Selectmen executive sessions held within your requested time frame. When that review has concluded, we will supplement this correspondence by forwarding you copies of the executive session minutes that the Board of Selectmen votes to release as well as explanations of applicable redactions and exemptions for any executive session minutes which are not released or which contain redactions. We appreciate your patience with this process as there are numerous sets of executive session minutes from that six year period to be reviewed and considered.
To the extent that this response does not itself include the minutes from executive sessions of the Board of Selectmen, please note that at this time those un-reviewed and unreleased executive session minutes are exempt from disclosure pursuant to M.G.L. c 4, §7 (26) (a) as a document which is specifically or by necessary implication exempted from disclosure by statute. Under the Open Meeting Law, M.G.L. c. 30A, §22(f), a public body is not required to disclose minutes used in an executive session where the disclosure of those records may defeat the lawful purposes of the executive session. As such, pending the above-referenced review and determination by the Board of Selectmen that release of particular executive session minutes would not defeat the lawful purposes of that particular executive session, those documents remain exempt from disclosure.
Finally, as you may know, pursuant to 950 CMR 32.08(1) and M.G.L. c. 66, §10(b), you have the right to appeal or seek redress of any denial of your public records request through an administrative process provided by the Supervisor of Public Records, within the Division of Public Records of the Office of the Secretary of State for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
If you have any questions on this matter, please direct them to me rather than to the Town Clerk.
Sincerely,
Frank Lynam, Town Administrator
Town of Whitman
54 South Ave
Whitman MA 02382
781-618-9704 Fax 781-618-9790
FJL@whitman-ma.gov
________________________________
When writing or responding, please remember that the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts has determined that email is a public record.
This communication may contain privileged or other confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, or believe that you have received this communication in error, please do not print, copy, retransmit, disseminate, or otherwise use the information. Also, please indicate to the sender that you have received this email in error, and delete the copy you received.
From: Caitlin Russell
Thank you for your response.
Once the Board has received a request for executive session minutes, it is required under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 30A, Section 22 (g)(2) to review the minutes within 30 days, or at the Board's next scheduled meeting, and release any non-exempt minutes. Can you provide me with an estimated date of completion of this review?
Also, can you elaborate a little on the review process you mentioned? How often does the Board review and release executive session minutes? Is there a policy dictating when they are reviewed and released? Thanks!
Caitlin
From: Lynam.Francis
It is necessary that the Board of Selectmen meet to review and approve, and release as appropriate, executive session minutes. I have undertaken a review of the records requested and will be meeting with the Board of Selectmen over the next several weeks to accomplish that task. I appreciate your understanding in this matter and I expect this review process will be done over the next few meetings, and we will provide you with records as we complete this process.
It is our intent to establish a process to review, approve, and release executive session minutes, as appropriate, within 30 days of the meeting or from when the purpose of the meeting is fulfilled.
If you have any questions regarding this matter please feel free to communicate with me directly, rather than the Town Clerk.
Thank you.
Frank Lynam, Town Administrator
Town of Whitman
54 South Ave
Whitman MA 02382
781-618-9704 Fax 781-618-9790
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: 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: Lynam.Frank
My apologies for missing your last email. The Board of Selectmen will be meeting on January 4, 2017 to approve and release the requested records, and they will be forwarded to you by Friday, January 6th. I appreciate your patience regarding this records request.
Sincerely,
Frank Lynam, Town Administrator
Town of Whitman
54 South Ave
Whitman MA 02382
781-618-9704 Fax 781-618-9790
From: Lynam.Frank
Thank you for your patience in our responding to your request. Attached is a folder consisting of 117 files in Word format containing the minutes of all executive session meetings for the Town of Whitman Board of Selectmen for the period beginning January 1, 2010 and ending December 31, 2015.
Please do not hesitate to contact me directly should you have any questions or require more information.
Frank Lynam, Town Administrator
Town of Whitman
54 South Ave
Whitman MA 02382
781-618-9704 Fax 781-618-9790
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2010-01-05 Released