Mr. Bruce Smith of 529 Redwood Road, Walkerton appeared before the Marshall County Commissioners this week again with his concerns that Redwood Road has been changed from a chip/seal road surface to a gravel road.
Mr. Smith has a number of questions as to how and why his road was destroyed and about the county’s funding for road work. After appearing at the meeting in September and not receiving any answers to his questions his month he presented his requests through the Indiana Access to Public Records Act.
Smith wants to when the decision was made the grind his road rather than to fix it. He also wants to know who and how the decision was made, the criteria utilized, and why residents affected weren’t notified.
Smith is seeking copies of scheduled maintenance and repairs for Redwood Road, cost for filling chuck holes, the estimated cost to return the road back to chip/seal and cost to maintain a gravel road compared to a paved road. His list of questions and documentation is nearly three pages long.
Smith did not read the entire request and closed his comments by saying, “If there are any fees for searching or copying these records, please inform me it the cost will exceed $20. However, I would also like to request a waiver of all fees in that the disclosure of the requested information is in the public interest and will contribute significantly to the public’s understanding of county road.”
He continued, “The Indiana Access to Public Records Act requires a response time within seven business days. If access to the records I am requsting will take longer than seven days, please contact me with information about when I might expect copies or the ability to inspect the requested records.”
His final comment was, “If you deny any or this entire request, please cite each specific exemption you feel justifies the refusal to release the information and notify me of the appeal procedures available to me under the law.”
Please note that the County Commissioners did not respond to his questions during their September meeting because Mr. Bruce Smith has, on social media threatened legal action against Marshall County and their attorney suggested no comment due to that fact.
