Automatic vehicle location database (Seattle Public Utilities )

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to RCW Ch. 42.56 (Public Records Act), I hereby request the following records:

Full and complete database of automatic vehicle location (AVL) data in its native electronic format, with related metadata, including database schema.

I also request that, if appropriate, fees be waived as I believe this request is in the public interest. The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, processed by a representative of the news media/press and is made in the process of news gathering and not for commercial usage.

In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 5 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Phil Mocek

RE: my public records request of July 10, 2013

Dear Sir or Madam:

On July 23, 2013, J. Norman Dizon asked via e-mail, "do you have specific dates or date ranges for which you would like data?" No, I request data for all dates. If it will not fit on a DVD-R, I'm happy to supply flash media or an external hard drive. Alternatively, it would be excellent if you would simply publish it to data.seattle.gov on a regular basis.

Cordially,
Phil Mocek

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on July 10, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on July 10, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #PDR 7885.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on July 10, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #PDR 7885.

Thank you for your help.

To Whom It May Concern:

I wanted to follow up on the following Freedom of Information request, copied below, and originally submitted on July 10, 2013. Please let me know when I can expect to receive a response, or if further clarification is needed. You had assigned it reference number #PDR 7885.

Thank you for your help.

RE: my public records request of July 10, 2013 (your identifier: PDR 7885)

Dear Mr. Dizon:

I received your e-mail of October 14, 2013, in which you attribute the latest delay in processing of my request to your reported attempt to contact the United States Department of Homeland Security.

I don't know why DHS would be involved. We're talking about logs of the locations of vehicles owned and operated by the City of Seattle. These are presumably large yellow trucks clearly marked "Seattle Public Utilities." So their location at any time is not secret, and the history of where they have been should not be secret, either. It's reasonable for the public to know where our public vehicles are deployed. One might wonder if some neighborhoods receive quicker responses to service outages than others do. One might wonder if SPU vehicles are parked outside a coffee shop for hours every day. The potential reasons are endless, and it is not up to government agents to determine what is good for the public to know and what should be kept secret from us.

Please forward related correspondence with U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

It has been more than three months since I requested this record. This is completely unreasonable. From my experience as a system administrator, I know that it should take only a few minutes to copy a database backup file. Over a month ago, on September 9, 2013, you told me via e-mail that the record was ready, and that you needed only to produce an invoice for the cost of media onto which you might copy it for me. What has changed since then?

Cordially,
Phil Mocek

Hello,

That address is correct.

Thank you.

RE: my public records request of July 10, 2013 (your identifier: PDR 7885)

Dear Mr. Dizon:

I received your e-mail of October 18. You wrote that your contact with U.S. Department of Homeland Security staff regarding this request was telephonic, so there is no correspondence. Who at your office made this contact? Whom at DHS did that person or those persons contact? What was discussed?

Cordially,
Phil Mocek