Because of the confusion over where the Kiwanis Playground was supposed to be built in Tracy Park, I requested, under Ohio’s Public Records laws, a copy of the agreement between the city and Kiwanis from Mayor Kalb. I made my request on Thursday, September 24, at 3:30 PM, and he replied by email late Saturday night, or rather very early Sunday morning. Always burning the midnight oil, he emailed his response at 1: 47 AM. My email and Kalb’s response follows:
--- On Thu, 9/24/09, rforr1@roadrunner.com
From: rforr1@roadrunner.com
Subject: Freedom of Information
To: portsmouthmayor@yahoo.com
Date: Thursday, September 24, 2009, 3:30 PM
To: James Kalb, Mayor
Under Ohio's Open Public Records Law, I am requesting a copy of the written agreement between the city and the Portsmouth Kiwanis Club for a playground in Tracy Park. A week ago, on Sept. 18th, 2009, at a public meeting in Tracy Park,in response to a question, Rick Morgan of Kiwanis publicly acknowledged that such a written agreement existed, but neither he nor you have yet made that agreement public. Please notify me by email when I can pick up a copy of that agreement.
Thank you.
Robert Forrey
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From: City of Portsmouth
To: rforr1@roadrunner.com
Subject: Re: Freedom of Information
Priority: Normal. Date: Sunday, September 27, 2009 1:47 AM
To: Robert Forrey
Per your public records request;
You are correct in stating that at the meeting in the park the fact was "acknowledged that such a written agreement existed". What I don't understand is why you feel that a confirmation of this fact would necessitate a publication or distribution of the mentioned document.
As you requested, a copy of the document has been prepared for you to pick up at my office. Our regular office hours are from 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday.
If there is anything else that I can do for you, which is required by law, don't hesitate to call my office. If it isn't required by law then don't bother asking, because I think that you're a worthless piece of s**t and I wouldn't p**s on you if you were on fire (my opinion). You're a poor, lonely, jealous, old man with aspirations of being a writer. You write your lies and uneducated opinions on people and issues from behind the safety of your slobber stained keyboard with the hope that somebody will read them that doesn't know you and believe that you're more than the pitiful, broke-down, lizard-looking thing that you are, in my opinion. Get a life old man. On second thought, don't bother..............
I do have a question for you. Do you have family and if so do they even like you?
Looking forward to your next Internet issue of "FORREY'S FOLLIES".....NOOOTTTTTT
With little respect for you,
Mayor James D. Kalb
Now that's freedom of speech at its best, in my opinion.
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In closing, I want to point out that the last sentence above ("Now that's freedom of speech at its best, in my opinion") is by Mayor Kalb, not by me. I have refrained from expressing my opinion in this post because I feel, while he has every right to express his opinions, his reply to my public records request speaks for itself, speaks volumes in fact, about what kind of person we have as mayor. R.F.
.
