this is Gary Mosher.. I sent you the tapes

yes...yes

I just wanted to make sure you got them

I did get them you asked for the meetings starting starting in August and we just approve the August 18th meeting at our last meeting so as soon as I can make a copy of it, I will send it out

ok... the one thing about that... is Ralph available?

he's not in today

ok would you leave a message for him to call me... it would be regarding the legality of approving a verbatim tape.

I'm sorry I don't understand... the legality of approving a verbatim tape... in what way?

well legally you are obligated to provide that tape //

I understand and I told you that I would//

no no immediately... before approval, on its production... the minute you have it I'm allowed to have a copy... the minute it is in the possession... you see when you do a transcript they can approve because you might make an error in your transcription. but they can't subject a tape to editing

will then ok I'll tell you what... um do you want to fill out a Opra request than? because the letter that you sent me isn't a formal request for the uh uh tapes and I can...

well uh.. I'm not.. the whole opera bull... we have been down that road before... it is not a legal requirement...

I understand

and #2 they have absolutely no... they don't do anything.. SO filling out a form is not what I'm gonna do.

I haven't denied you access to the tape, I just haven't had a chance to copy it yet

no no I understand, but you're still copying them 15 days late... or 30 days late

it's not 15 days late it's from one I got your request and then I have seven days to comply

my point is, you said after its approved//

and it has been approved and I'm in the process of making the copies and when I have

all right all right my point is//

I understand what your point is sir, you're trying to say that I'm not doing what I told you I would do

no no NO I'm just saying NO you have to make a copy before it is approved

I don't have to make a copy, I can make copy

NO you're obligated to make a copy when i request IT

and I got your request just a couple of days ago, and i am in the process... this is not something that happens quickly because we have a very antiquated system... I am in the process

right, I just saying let's say the next council meeting... what date is the next council meeting

sorry

what date is the next meeting

the next council meeting is September 15th

ok what about the September... when was the first one September what

September 2

ok so I would... so my contention is that I'm entitled, to within seven days, of September 2nd a copy of the September 2nd council meeting... not subject to approval, the copy has to be made...

that's fine and I'm in the process of making the copies just like I told you when we first had this...

ok you you you used the word approval, you brought up the WORD approval... I just saying "approval" is irrelevant to my request

fine, if that's your interpretation, if that is what the law says, then that is what I will do

ok that's fine then

unfortunately, I don't have them immediately

I'm happy with that... that's fine

like I said the system is such that I have to play the whole tape in my office OUT loud and record it on a hand-held recorder so if it is a four hour meeting [wow] it takes me four hours to record it

well you want me to... well maybe I can you know find a better tape recorder for the town

the problem is the problem is the system that the town has and can afford at this point in time, this is the way it transcription has to be done

I understand... dual cassette tape decks have been available for a long time.

well we don't have it, and we don't have the money for right now

I understand but I'm just saying for 50 bucks maybe I can buy one

I've been here for a year, and it is more complicated than just a dual recorder, is a whole system that has to comply with our speakers, and are equalizers and everything else that's down at the garabrant center... so it's more than just a dual recorder also the recorder that we have is modulated to be operated a certain speed, so it has to be played at that speed, and recorded out loud on a hand-held cassette ...it is the only way to make a copy of it right now. so as I said if it is a four hour meeting I have to play that meeting OUT LOUD for four hours in order to record it.

I just saying that isn't

I can't argue with you whether the system is good or bad

Look, I have been doing this for three years with the town

well you haven't been doing it with me I have comply... I have complied

this is the same old tug-of-war I just saying there is part of what the law says that the tapes have to be made available

I understand the law says you have to understand that I am doing what I can do

I understand that, what I am saying is that// the point this is that the technology

I don't appreciate.... excuse me I don't appreciate I don't have the technology to do it as quickly as you would like. I am doing the best I can I'm complying with your request unfortunately it takes me four hours to record a four hour meeting and that's four hours I don't have in a bulk time during my day

understood, but that's not my fault, that's not my fault

arguing with me about technology

it is a legitimate argument, because if the town doesn't have adequate technology

take it up with the council take it up with the council

no I will take it up with Ralph, as I said have him call me, if the town doesn't have the technology to copy a tape, than the town is gonna have to fix that

I told you I have the technology you just don't like it

you just said it was too much of an inconvenience

I never said that I never said that

its four hours out of your day

I never said that it was too big of an inconvenience, my comment was that it takes four hours out of a day to do it. and I have not had that block .. chunk of time to do this for you. we are talking about two meetings that total about seven hours and I had not had that chunk of time to do it that quickly, I am in the process of doing it, I am complying with your request .. on a request that is not even a legal Opra form but I'm doing it because I always...

Opra has no legal authority

yes they do

no I'm sorry they do not, the only reason you have to fill out a form.. is if you want to.../

/ Mr. Mozer I am not going to argue with you.. have a lot I have a lot of things to do, I am in process if you would like to, I can switch you to Ralph's voicemail and you can leave him a message

thank-you

how is that

thank-you

Ralph Blakeslee borough administrator I am either on the phone or away from my desk please leave a detailed message and I will return your call as soon as possible thank-you beeep .

ya this is Gary Mosher I just got finished with a conversation with the Clark and she is feeling very put upon because I'm requesting that the... I sent in some tapes to get copies of the council minutes, because she used and word, I didn't bring it up, she used the word the minutes that were "approved". so I sensibly said well-no they don't have to be approved because the town can't edit a tape that have to provide the tape verbatim as they have it. except for anything that in in a privileged portion of the council, but the public portion you have to give it to me as it is... you can't edit the tape so it isn't subject to approval anyway she used that word... so I said OK So said she said she would give them to me as the town has them and ua she was feeling very put upon, because I made the request, I wasn't saying it had to be in 3 days or two days or one day I was perfectly satisfied with the seven days but, I had to get a whole spiel about how the town's technology is completely inadequate... well if the town's technology as inadequate then get a dual cassette player, are find a different way of taping your your minutes I mean meetings so you're not reporting them with some antiquated tape speed, and um figure out a better system than having somebody holding as she put it a hand-held cassette player next to the speakers and having to broadcast the minutes out loud. I mean what sense is that if you don't have adequate technology to copy a tape than get it... I don't appreciate.. as she said she doesn't appreciate my attitude, well I don't appreciate her attitude... I don't appreciate being harangued as if I'm making some outrageous request because I simply want a tape copied..i mean c'mon, get with the program here-- if we have $15,000 to install of a sluice gate on a damn that's worth maybe 200 dollars, I mean I could fix that old one for 200 bucks all it needed was a few welds, hell you could of done it without welds... could have just gotten some angle iron steel put a few bolts in it and cemented the damn thing in... 15,000 bucks... what is that... that's insane... $30,000 for a footbridge, I mean, come on... the town is just laced with these inefficiencies... you had to raise the tax rate by whatever it was 4%... and you are all proud of yourself because the average was 10%-- well $100,000 on a pond that is not going have any fish in it... Wow... that doesn't make a lot of sense. but anyway that's a whole other issue so let's see if we can get this tape thing resolved... thank you

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