Minutes
Dear Clark Township,
This is a request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form. Please acknowledge receipt of this message.
Records requested:
Since the Township of Clark has selectively entered minutes for some of the Township Council Meetings (10 out of 30 thus far) on the township website https://www.ourclark.com/AgendaCenter,
- I am requesting all the missing minutes for all the Public, Workshop and Special council meetings for the 2021 calendar year up to and including the meeting of 11/1/21. An answer of a date when all the minutes will be posted on the Township's Official website will suffice as long as it is done within a reasonable time frame.
Yours faithfully,
CR
Your request has been received and will be processed in accordance with the Open Public Records Act.
Edith L. Merkel, RMC
Township Clerk
Township of Clark
430 Westfield Ave.
Clark, NJ 07066
(732) 388-3669 ph.
(732) 388-1241 fx.
To: Clark Resident - opramachine
From: Edith L. Merkel, Township Clerk, Township of Clark
Re: OPRA request
Date: November 3, 2021
The Township of Clark received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request on November 2, 2021. The official Records Custodian, Edith Merkel, received your OPRA request on November 2, 2021. As such, the seven (7) business day deadline to respond to your request is November 12, 2021. This response to your request is being provided to you on the 1st business day after the custodian’s receipt of said request.
All minutes of Council meetings where action is taken, Regular and Special meetings, are posted on the Township website. Please use this link for easy access to satisfy this portion of your request as you have indicated is acceptable to you https://www.ourclark.com/AgendaCenter The minutes of the October 18, 2021 Regular meeting, as well as the November 1, 2021 Special meeting are still being prepared and will be available on the Township website as soon as they have been completed. Workshop meetings, held to discuss the legislation to be considered at the next Regular or Special meeting are not posted on the website. No action is taken at Workshop meetings. You will find the agenda for Workshop meetings on the website. I have attached copies of all Workshop meetings held in 2021. Please note that there was no Workshop meeting held in January. In addition the February 1st Workshop and Special meetings were canceled due to a major snow storm on that day. Meetings held on the third Monday of each month are also televised and can be viewed by going to the Township website. If you would like to be included on the list of residents who receive the agenda prior to each meeting, please provide an email address.
Your request is hereby satisfied.
If your request for access to a government record has been denied or unfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law, you have a right to challenge the decision by the Township of Clark to deny access. At your option, you may either institute a proceeding in the Superior Court of New Jersey or file a complaint with the Government Records Council (GRC) by completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form. You may contact the GRC by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at P.O. Box 819, Trenton, NJ, 08625, by e-mail at [email address], or at their web site at www.state.nj.us/grc. The GRC can also answer other questions about the law. All questions regarding complaints filed in Superior Court should be directed to the Court Clerk in your County.
Dear Clerk's Dept.,
You indicated in your response to my request that the minutes for the council workshop meetings for the 2021 calendar year were on the https://www.ourclark.com/AgendaCenter. Upon checking of the township's official site, it is obvious the minutes are not posted.
Yours sincerely,
Clark Resident
To: Clark Resident - opramachine
From: Edith L. Merkel, Township Clerk, Township of Clark
Re: OPRA - 2021 Council Workshop meeting minutes
Date: November 10, 2021
The Township of Clark received your Open Public Records Act (OPRA) request on November 9, 2021 (email inbox after business hours). The official Records Custodian, Edith Merkel, received your OPRA request on November 10, 2021. This response to your request is being provided to you on the same business day as the custodian’s receipt of said request.
My response to you dated November 3, 2021 which you have included below, states:
"All minutes of Council meetings where action is taken, Regular and Special meetings, are posted on the Township website."
"Workshop meetings, held to discuss the legislation to be considered at the next Regular or Special meeting are not posted on the website. No action is taken at Workshop meetings. You will find the agenda for Workshop meetings on the website."
The November 3rd response also included all Council Workshop meeting minutes for 2021 attached as PDF files. If you need them again, reply as such.
The original request was satisfied November 3, 2021 and the follow up request is hereby satisfied November 10, 2021.
If your request for access to a government record has been denied or unfilled within the seven (7) business days required by law, you have a right to challenge the decision by the Township of Clark to deny access. At your option, you may either institute a proceeding in the Superior Court of New Jersey or file a complaint with the Government Records Council (GRC) by completing the Denial of Access Complaint Form. You may contact the GRC by toll-free telephone at 866-850-0511, by mail at P.O. Box 819, Trenton, NJ, 08625, by e-mail at [email address], or at their web site at www.state.nj.us/grc. The GRC can also answer other questions about the law. All questions regarding complaints filed in Superior Court should be directed to the Court Clerk in your County.