A judge could soon determine whether the Massachusetts Army National Guard must turn over documents about controversial plans for a machine gun range on Joint Base Cape Cod.
The Association to Preserve Cape Cod has filed a complaint with Suffolk Superior Court, saying the Guard has ignored nine Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests that seek information about why the Guard repeatedly sought contractor bids for a scaled-back version of the range this year while lacking critical state approval for the project.
Andrew Gottlieb, executive director of APCC, said all the FOIA requests have been ignored, and he believes the Guard is engaging in a pattern of non-compliance and acting in bad faith to prevent the release of information.
“We didn’t just go to court willy nilly,” he said. “We have every right to see that information. And yet we're unlawfully denied our access.”
A spokesperson for the Guard declined to comment.
According to Gottlieb, the opponents of the range feel a sense of urgency. They’re concerned that the Guard is trying to award a builder a contract for the range before federal funds expire at the end of this month.
“It sure feels like they're working very hard to allow the calendar days to run past September 30th before being required to turn over the documents—because September 30th is the critical date for the contract to either be executed or not.”
Members of the Cape’s federal delegation stripped funding for the range from the upcoming the National Defense Authorization Act.
Gottlieb said APCC and its lawyers are hopeful the court will rule in their favor after their complaint is heard on September 13 at 2 PM in Boston, and order the National Guard to provide the requested documents.
