Public Notice to Newspapers for Resolution 290-2025
Dear Mansfield Township (Warren),
Please accept this electronic request for public records made under OPRA and the common law right of access. I am not required to fill out an official form or use a particular software platform to submit my request per NJSA 47:1A-6(f), which states that an email from a requestor including all of the information required on the adopted form shall suffice in place of a completed form as a valid government record request.
I HAVE NOT been convicted of any indictable offense under the laws of New Jersey, any other state, or the United States.
I WILL NOT use the requested government records for a commercial purpose.
I AM NOT seeking records in connection with a legal proceeding.
Records requested:
Regarding the Township Committee’s appointment of Brent Connelly to fill the remainder of Joe Farino’s term, Resolution 290-2025 was passed on December 10, 2025.
Please provide the legal public notices to the newspapers.
My preferred delivery method for response(s) to this request is by E-mail as attachments. Please confirm you have received this request. If you are not the custodian of records, please forward my request to that person and provide their email address to me for future reference.
Yours faithfully,
William Sosis
Please be advised I will be out of the office on Friday, December 12th and
Monday, December 15th. If you should require immediate attention, please
contact Deputy Clerk, Leigh Raffaele, at 908-689-6151 Ext. 100
Happy Holidays!
Thank you,
Wendy Barras, R.M.C. C.M.R
Township Municipal Clerk/Registrar
Mansfield Township
100 Port Murray Rd.
Port Murray, NJ 07865
908-689-6151 Ext. 128
Mr. Sosis,
Your OPRA Request dated 12/12/25 stated "Regarding the Township Committee's appointment of Brent Connelly to fill the remainder of Joe Farino's term, Resolution 290-2025 was passed on December 10, 2025. Please provide the legal public notices to the newspapers." Based upon that statement, it would imply you were seeking the public notice sent to the newspaper regarding the adoption of Resolution 290-2025. Which, the Township provided that there are no records responsive to that request. Please confirm if you are, in fact, requesting the public notice sent to the newspapers regarding the notification of scheduled Township Committee meetings for 2025 under the Open Public Meetings Act.
Regards,
Wendy Barras, R.M.C C.M.R
Township Clerk/Registrar
Township of Mansfield
100 Port Murray Rd.
Port Murray, NJ 07865
908-689-6151 Ext. 128
-----Original Message-----
From: William Sosis <[OPRA #84290 email]>
Sent: Tuesday, December 16, 2025 5:09 PM
To: Township Clerk <[email address]>
Subject: EXTERNALRE: EXTERNALOPRA request - Public Notice to Newspapers for Resolution 290-2025
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Re: Clarification Request re OPRA Response dated December 12, 2025
Ms. Barras,
Thank you for your response to my OPRA request dated December 12, 2025, advising that the Township is not in possession of any records responsive to my request seeking proof of publication or transmission of public notice to the Township’s designated newspapers. For purposes of clarity, and to ensure I correctly understand the Township’s position, please advise which of the following applies:
1. No notice to the designated newspapers was sent for the meeting at issue;
2. Notice was sent to the designated newspapers, but the Township does not retain any records documenting that transmission or publication; or
3. Records documenting notice to the designated newspapers do exist, but are being withheld or were not identified as responsive.
If the Township contends that notice was provided but no records were retained, please identify the Township’s record-retention policy or practice governing OPMA notice documentation.
If the Township contends that records do exist but were not produced, please identify the applicable OPRA exemption being asserted.
I am not requesting the creation of new records, only clarification of the basis for the Township’s response.
Thank you for your attention to this request.
Respectfully,
William N. Sosis, Esq.
15 Brantwood Terrace
Mansfield Township, NJ 07840
201-655-6400
-----Original Message-----
Good afternoon,
Please be advised the Township of Mansfield is not in possession of any records responsive to your OPRA Request dated 12/12/25.
Regards,
Wendy Barras, R.M.C C.M.R
Township Clerk/Registrar
Township of Mansfield
100 Port Murray Rd.
Port Murray, NJ 07865
908-689-6151 Ext. 128
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Ms. Barras,
My OPRA request was not ambiguous. I was requesting any public notice, if any, provided to newspapers in connection with the Township Committee’s consideration and adoption of Resolution 290-2025 on December 10, 2025. Your response that there are “no records responsive” necessarily means one of the following is true:
(1) No public notice to any newspaper was sent in connection with Resolution 290-2025, or
(2) Such notice was sent, but the Township failed to retain any record of it.
Please confirm which of those two statements is accurate.
To be clear, I am not requesting the Township’s annual Open Public Meetings Act meeting schedule notices for 2025. Those notices are unrelated to my request and do not address whether any newspaper notice was issued regarding the specific resolution and appointment at issue.
Regards,
William N. Sosis