Borough Council Meeting Minutes (20230319-1.txt)
Dear Ms. Santiago:
Please accept this as my request for government records under both OPRA and the common law right of access. Thank you very much for your commitment to transparent government.
BACKGROUND:
I was trying to do some research into Highland Park Borough decisionmaking in 2022. Unfortunately, the most recent sent of public Borough Council meeting minutes available on-line is from February 15, 2022--more than a year ago. While I understand that nothing in the law requires a municipality to put its meeting minutes on-line, I think you'll agree with me that having them on-line really helps those who are interested in municipal affairs. It is my hope that you'll abide by request no. 2 below instead of no. 1.
RECORDS REQUESTED:
1. Minutes of all Borough Council public meetings held on or after March 1, 2022. Please identify any minutes that cannot be disclosed because they are not yet approved.
2. In lieu of sending me the records responsive to no. 1 above, please upload those records to the Borough's public website and notify me that you have done so. This is preferable because it will not only assist me but all citizens who are interest in the Borough Council's business.
3. Minutes of all Borough Council nonpublic (i.e. closed or executive) meetings held during 2022. Please identify any minutes that cannot be disclosed because they are not yet approved.
Dear Mr. Paff,
The Borough is in receipt of your OPRA request dated March 19, 2023
(received on Monday, March 20, 2023). Attached are minutes of meetings
you requested that have been approved by the Borough Council. Minutes
from the April 5, 2022 and April 19, 2022 meetings are on the agenda for
action at the next Borough Council meeting on April 4, 2023.
Unfortunately, minutes for most of the meetings you requested, public and
closed session, are not yet completed. The former Borough Clerk retired
at the end of 2021 and this office has not been fully staffed. However,
we are in the process of preparing minutes for all of those meetings and
they will be posted on the Borough’s website as soon as they are approved
by the Council. In addition, there are transcripts of most meetings on
the Borough’s Youtube site: [1]https://www.youtube.com/user/hptv15
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me.
Thank you and have a great evening,
Jennifer
Jennifer A Santiago
Borough Clerk/Registrar of Vital Statistics
Planning/Zoning/Redevelopment Clerk
The Borough of Highland Park
County of Middlesex, State of New Jersey
221 South 5th Avenue
Highland Park, New Jersey 08904
TEL. (732) 819-3782
FAX (732) 777-6006
On Sun, Mar 19, 2023 at 3:37 PM John Paff
<[2][OPRA #40984 email]> wrote:
Dear Ms. Santiago:
Please accept this as my request for government records under both OPRA
and the common law right of access. Thank you very much for your
commitment to transparent government.
BACKGROUND:
I was trying to do some research into Highland Park Borough
decisionmaking in 2022. Unfortunately, the most recent sent of public
Borough Council meeting minutes available on-line is from February 15,
2022--more than a year ago. While I understand that nothing in the law
requires a municipality to put its meeting minutes on-line, I think
you'll agree with me that having them on-line really helps those who are
interested in municipal affairs. It is my hope that you'll abide by
request no. 2 below instead of no. 1.
RECORDS REQUESTED:
1. Minutes of all Borough Council public meetings held on or after March
1, 2022. Please identify any minutes that cannot be disclosed because
they are not yet approved.
2. In lieu of sending me the records responsive to no. 1 above, please
upload those records to the Borough's public website and notify me that
you have done so. This is preferable because it will not only assist me
but all citizens who are interest in the Borough Council's business.
3. Minutes of all Borough Council nonpublic (i.e. closed or executive)
meetings held during 2022. Please identify any minutes that cannot be
disclosed because they are not yet approved.
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address for all replies to this request:
[3][OPRA #40984 email]
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Email received by or sent to Borough officials and employees is subject to
the Open Public Records Act (OPRA). This means that absent some specific
privilege, all such communications are considered a public record and are
subject to publication and/or dissemination to the public upon request.
References
Visible links
1. https://www.youtube.com/user/hptv15
2. mailto:[email address]
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4. mailto:[Highland Park Borough request email]
5. https://opramachine.com/change_request/n...
6. https://opramachine.com/help/officers
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