Reply to City Attorney Susana Wood

I am asking you to please refrain from accusing me of making false statements. 

There is no need to argue or waste each other’s time.  Please follow the law and provide Mayor Ridenour’s 2008 calendar as requested under the Public Records Act.  You did not provide me with the 2008 calendar, the mayor voluntarily gave the Measure M pay commission the first four months of his 2008 calendar to justify a $65,000 a year salary.

In today’s communication (see below), you threaten to dispose of the 2008 calendars.  You have already taken the  original calendars for 2007 and 2009 and had them retyped.

If you have destroyed the original calendars, you have destroyed public records.

As for 2008 calendars, let me assist you in obeying the law.  Simply gather the 2008 calendars off your conference table, put them in an envelope, and mail them to me.

If you find that impossible I will ask you to produce all the original calendars at the July 7, 2009 City Council meeting..

Mr. Sabatino:

Please consider this a response to your Public Records Act request of June 29^th, 2009 wherein you are seeking a copy of Mayor Ridenour’s calendar for last week.

1)  In response to this request, a copy of that calendar has been provided to the City Clerk’s office and is now available for you to pick up during regular office hours.

2)  The Mayor has advised that he will be providing a copy of his previous week’s calendar to the City Clerk’s office every Monday morning, and they  will be ready for you to pick up after 9:00 a.m.  

3)  With regard to your reference to the “denial” by me of Mayor Ridenour’s calendar for 2008 – you are simply incorrect.  I am going to remind you of the following communication we had regarding copies of the Mayor’s 2008 calendar.  On June 17^th I responded to your request, and provided the following specific response regarding 2008 calendars:

“…With regard to the Mayor’s calendar pages for 2008 – I would remind you that upon receipt of these calendar copies from the City, you turned over a copy of the Mayor’s 2008 calendar to The City Council, the Board of Supervisors, County Council, the District Attorney, the Sheriff, along with others.  I believe you also posted it on your website, but I could be mistaken.

If you find you still need another copy, however, let me know and I will make another copy for you.  I believe the format for the 2008 calendar pages was in the condensed form you referenced, so the cost would be less.”

In response, you called me on June 17, 2009 and left a voicemail advising me that rather than copies, you wanted to make an appointment to come in and view the calendars.  I responded to you by email, advising you that you were welcome to come in to the office and view the 2008 calendars and you could use one of our conference rooms to do so.    I can send you a copy of that email, as well as other referenced emails, for your reference.

You next responded by stating in an email on June 18, 2009 that you didn’t need to use a conference room to view the calendars.  I responded to you that the conference room offer was a courtesy, and you could use our foyer to view the records as well.   This was on the morning of June 18, 2009.  We have had the Mayor’s 2008 calendars set aside for you to come in and view them per your request, but to date you have not done so, nor have you contacted this office to make an appointment to come view them.    For all these reasons, I am hereby requesting that you immediately refrain from making any more false statements that the City, and my office specifically, have denied you access to review these record.

Please be further informed that if I don’t hear from you by noon tomorrow (July 1, 2009) regarding scheduling an appointment to view the 2008 Mayor calendars, I will consider that a withdrawal of your request and will dispose of them.

Susana Alcala Wood

City Attorney

City of Modesto

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(209) 577-5284.