At this time, your request is overly broad and unclear, and I am therefore requesting clarification. Please provide a bid number so we can look it up that way.

Sincerely,

Sarah Kiamos, Legal Secretary/ Confidential Aide
Atlantic County Dept. of Law
County Counsel Office
1333 Atlantic Avenue., 8th Floor
Atlantic City, New Jersey 08401
Phone: (609) 345-6700, ext. 2310
Fax: (609) 343-2373
Email: [email address]

-----Original Message-----
From: Maddie Baisley <[OPRA #50844 email]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 30, 2023 1:16 PM
To: OPRA requests at Atlantic County <[Atlantic County request email]>
Subject: OPRA request - Bid Tabulation Results for Highway Improvement Program Spruce Ave (CR684)

** WARNING: This email originated from outside of the Atlantic County Government Email System. DO NOT CLICK links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and are expecting the email. Please make sure the actual sending email address is what you are expecting not just sender name. **

Dear Atlantic County,

This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.

Records requested:

Please send the final and compiled bid tabulation (Bid Tally), including all quantities and unit pricing for each bidder, for Highway Improvement Program Spruce Ave (CR684) that was submitted on 4/4/19.

Below is an example of the format we are looking for that the engineer usually creates at the completion of the bid:

| | |

| BIDDER 1 | BIDDER 2 |

————————————————————————————————

Item | Description | QNT | UNIT | AMOUNT | UNIT | AMOUNT |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

Please send all documents electronically.

Thanks,
PPA

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CUSTODIAN RESPONSE TO OPRA 557-2023

September 14, 2023

You have submitted an Open Public Records Request and have indicated your
preferred method of delivery is email.

Your request:

“Please send the final and compiled bid tabulation (Bid Tally), including
all quantities and unit pricing for each bidder, for Highway Improvement
Program Spruce Ave (CR684) that was submitted on 4/4/19.”

Please be advised that your request is being denied as overly broad and
for failure to provide clarification.  We were unable to process your
request because you failed to provide the clarification that was requested
on September 1, 2023.  As explained in the September 1, 2023 email, your
request is broad, unclear and fails to specify the documents you are
seeking with particularity and would require the custodian to research
which documents are responsive. Your request fails to identify with
reasonable clarity the specific government records sought, as is required
by Bent v. Stafford Police Department, 381 N.J.Super. 30, 37 (App. Div. 
2005). The New Jersey Superior Court has held that “OPRA … is not intended
as a research tool litigants may use to force government officials to
identify and siphon useful information.  Rather, OPRA simply operates to
make identifiable government records ‘readily accessible for inspection,
copying, or examination.’  N.J.S.A. § 47:1A-1.” MAG Entertainment, LLC v.
Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, 375 N.J. Super. 534, 546 (App.
Div. 2005).  In short, OPRA does not countenance open-ended searches of an
agency’s files.”  (Emphasis added.)  Id. at 549.  Further, in Bent, the
Appellate Division held that a proper request under OPRA must identify
with reasonable clarity those documents that are desired, and a party
cannot satisfy this requirement by simply requesting all of an agency’s
documents.”

Kindest regards,

Kaitlyn Flynn

Assistant County Counsel 

Atlantic County Department of Law

1333 Atlantic Ave, 8th Floor

Atlantic City, NJ 08401

609-343-2222