HomeMy Public PortalAboutPRR 14-0942Your orieinal request, dated June 4. 2014, is reproduced in the space below:
From: file rec [mailto :file.folder.record @gmail.comj
Sent: Wednesday, June 04, 2014 11:06 AM
To: Bill Thrasher; Rita Taylor
Subject: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST morgan Itrs and addresses
PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST morgan Itrs and addresses
To whom it may concern,
Please forward this public record request to the Custodian of Records for your agency. I wish to make a
public records request of the Town of Gulf Stream for public records. I do this pursuant to Florida
Constitution Article 1, Section 24 and Florida Statutes Chapter 119.07.
Please provide all public records that are all letters signed by, created by, or sent on behalf of, Mayor
Scott Morgan and sent to any resident of the Town of Gulf Stream since the time Mr.
Morgan became mayor.
Please provide all public records that are the address for every resident sent said letters
Please include records from all email accounts in the control of all town officials, appointees and
employees and include all records that are responsive to this request. If you contend that any of the
records I am seeking, or any portion thereof, are exempt from inspection or disclosure please cite the
specific exemption as required by Florida Statute §119.07(1)(e) and state in writing and with
particularity the basis for your conclusions as required by Florida Statute §119.07(1)(f).
Please take note of Florida Statue §119.07(c) and your affirmative obligation to (1) promptly
acknowledge receipt of this public records request and (2) make a good faith effort which "includes
making reasonable efforts to determine from other officers or employees within the agency whether
such o record exists and, if so, the location of which the record can be accessed." I am, therefore,
requesting that you notify every individual in possession of records that may be responsive to this public
records request to preserve all such records on an immediate basis.
If some records that are responsive to my request are obtainable sooner than other responsive records,
I wish to receive those records as soon as they are available and I wish to receive the other records as
soon as they become available. I request that no responsive records be withheld from me while waiting
for other responsive records to be found.
If the records are not available as digital records then please email me with instructions for me to pick
the records up from you. I would prefer the records in electronic or digital form. If the public records
being sought are maintained by your agency in an electronic format please produce the records in the
original electronic format in which they were created or received. See Florida Statute §119.01(2)(f).
If you anticipate the production of some of these public records will require a search of sufficient
duration as to require any deposit payment from me, please notify me of any such required payment
prior to conducting any portion of that search which would require such payment. Please first produce
any responsive records that are readily available and do not require any deposit payment prior to
producing.
If you anticipate the production of these public records to exceed $1.00 please notify me in advance of
their production with a written estimate of the total cost. Please be sure to itemize any estimates so as
to indicate the total number of pages and /or records, as well as to distinguish the cost of labor and
materials prior to you expending any resources that would require payment from me.
All responses to this public records request should be made in writing to the following email address:
filefolderrecordccDgmail.com
TOWN OF GULF STREAM
PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA
Delivered via e-mail
June 4, 2014
File rec [mailto: filefoldenecord@gmail.com]
Re: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST morgan Itrs and addresses
(a) Please provide all public records that are all letters signed by, created by, or sent on behalf
of, Mayor Scott Morgan and sent to any resident of the Town of Gulf Stream since the
time Mr. Morgan became mayor.
(b) Please provide all public records that are the address far every resident sent said letters.
Dear File rec [mailto: frlefolderrecord@gmail.com],
The Town of Gulf Stream has received your public records request dated June 4, 2014. If your
request was received in writing, then the first page of that request is attached to this cover letter.
If your request was verbal, then the description of your public records request is set forth in the
space below.
The Town of Gulf Stream is currently working on a large number of incoming public records
requests. The Town will use its very best efforts to respond to you in a reasonable amount of time
with the appropriate response or an estimated cost to respond.
Sincerely,
Town Clerk
Custodian of the Records
TOWN OF GULF STREAM
PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA
Delivered via email
July 16, 2014
File rec [mail to: file.folder.record@gmail.com]
Re: PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST morgan Itrs and addresses
(a) Please provide all public records that are all letters signed by, created by, or sent on behalf
of, Mayor Scott Morgan and sent to any resident of the Town of Cntlf Stream since the time Mr.
Morgan became mayor.
(b) Please provide all public records that are the address for every resident sent said letters.
Dear File rec [mail to: file.folder.record@gmail.com],
This letter is attached to an email that provides you with the responsive production of the public
records requested in your email dated June 4, 2014, and acknowledged on June 4, 2014. This
correspondence is reproduced below for your convenience.
Please see the attached document that is responsive to part (a) of your request. No records exist
for part (b) of your request.
Unless we hear back from you, we consider this matter closed.
Sincerely,
Town Clerk
Custodian of the Records
TOWN OF GULF STREAM
PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA
'.Te11)I,t&11[P.rl;q
SCOTTMORGAN, Mayor
ROBERT W. GANGER,Vke-Mayor
JOAN K.ORTHWEIN
THOMAS M. STANLEY
DONNA S. WHITE
June 2, 2014
Dear Gulf Stream Town Residents,
Telephone
(3611376-3116
O Fea
(3611TAA166
3 Town Manager
WILLIAM H. THRASHER
Town Clerk
RRA L TAYLOR
I want to thank all of you for your support during the election and for your continued
support of the new Commission as it moves forward to address Town matters. There are a
number of important developments in the Town that affect all residents, and for that reason, I
am writing this letter to keep you abreast of these current events.
The underground electrical wiring project is proceeding well with conduit being laid in
the Town district and along the Southern portion of ASA. This is called the First Stage of the
project. The First Stage is expected to be completed by the end of August. The second and final
stage is on target for completion by December 2015. Funding for the underground wiring is
complete and, if the rest of the job goes as expected, we believe that there will be some
amount of funding overage for remittance back to the residents.
The Ad Hoc Committee appointed to review our Code and Design Manual recently
submitted its report. The Committee made a number of recommendations but essentially
concluded that most Town residents like our current Code as written and do not want to see
any significant changes to it. The full report Is being placed on-line so you will be able to review
it on our Town website.
Town Hall Is being made more accessible for persons with disabilities. There is now a
unisex bathroom that can accommodate a wheel chair. In addition, the Commission has
allocated funds to build a ramp at the rear of the building for wheelchair use.
One of the more pressing issues involves the Town's finances. Historically, Gulf Stream
functioned well utilizing only the revenue from Its property taxes. Overtime, the Town built up
a reserve of funds that could be used for capital Improvements or for emergency spending, like
storm damage or water line repairs. Current thinking Is that a reasonable General Fund Reserve
for a town of our size should be around $1 million to $1.5 million, and that is a level that Gulf
Stream has typically maintained.
Recently, Gulf Stream's General Fund Reserves have dropped to around $675,000.00.
Legal fees and costs have risen dramatically due to our defending over 20 lawsuits filed by two
residents, Mr. O'Boyle and Mr. O'Hare. These lawsuits are primarily Public Records actions and
100 SEA ROAD, GULF STREAM, FLORIDA 33483
relate to over 800 public records requests filed by these two residents or by other Individuals
and organizations with whom they appear to be connected. The records requests Involve many
thousands of documents and, in my opinion, have little purpose other than to harass and
financially damage our Town. In addition to paying legal fees for litigation work, the Town has
sought legal advice to help It respond to some other unusual situations, including matters
relating to O'Boyle and O'Hare. To put the legal fees in perspective, Gulf Stream typically
budgets around $15,000.00 annually for legal services. In the first 6 months of this year, we
have already spent over $160,000.00. Those dollars have to come from somewhere—by
reducing budgeted allocations for other services, or tax increases, or from the Town's reserves.
In addition, as you may know, our Town office staff consists of only four full time
employees. Recently, our Administrative Assistant, who, among all of her other duties, was
tasked with the primary responsibility of responding to these Public Records requests,
submitted her resignation, citing the heavy pressure of the work involved In respondingto the
overwhelming nature of these requests. Also, our Town Clerk, who worked with the
Administrative Assistant in responding to these Requests, has found it necessary to come into
the office every weekend just to catch up on the regular Town business. These are dedicated
Town employees, who do not deserve to work under this type of pressure.
In response to this continuing problem, the Commission is stepping up its defense of the
O'Boyle and O'Hare litigation. Special counsel has been hired to assist our other attorneys in
this regard. The Commission believes strongly that a firm stance is necessary to limit the
detrimental effects that these lawsuits are having on staff morale and Town reserves. This
approach does cost money, however, and this is your money, so we have an obligation to keep
you informed.
Ending on a more positive note, we encourage Gulf Stream residents to participate in
our monthly Commission meetings. Each regular meeting has a Public Comment period, where
anyone can speak on agenda items. We welcome your Input, plus we think you will find the
meetings informative and interesting. Along that line, the Town's website now contains a link to
Minutes from past Commission and ARPB meetings. If you are unable to attend a meeting,
access to these Minutes will keep you informed of developments.
Finally, the other Commissioners and I look forward to working with you in the
upcoming year. Should you ever have a question or concern, please feel free to call me at home
or on my cell phone.
Best regards,
�
Ott W. Morgan
hm:243-1432
cell: 573-6006