Sarah, good afternoon. I apologize for the delay responding. The City will work to respond to your Open Records Act request per your revision and explanation below.
Just a note, you cite to OCGA § 50-18-72(h) but that subsection of the statute does not exist. Perhaps you are referring to § 50-18-71(d) about exemptions. The City does not have an obligation to create a privilege log under the Open Records Act.
Thanks,
Jeremy
Jeremy Berry | Partner
CHILIVIS GRUBMAN
1834 Independence Square | Atlanta, Georgia 30338
Main: 404.233.4171 | Direct: 404.262.6507 | Cell: 404.798.6961| E: jberry@cglawfirm.com
From: Sarah Zeeman <szeeman@gmail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, December 2, 2025 2:57 PM
To: Jeremy T. Berry <JBerry@cglawfirm.com>
Cc: Loretta Watts <loretta.watts@brookhavenga.gov>; Sandra Bryant <sandra.bryant@brookhavenga.gov>
Subject: Re: Your Open Records Act requests to the City of Brookhaven
Subject: ORA Clarification – PRR-499-2025 / PRR-647-2025
Jeremy,
Thank you so much for your response and for your willingness to help clarify my requests — I truly appreciate it.
Just to avoid any confusion, this ORA request is separate from any litigation matter, and counsel does not represent me for purposes of public-records requests. I’m comfortable corresponding directly with the City as contemplated by O.C.G.A. § 50-18-70 et seq.
I really appreciate and welcome your offer for you to convene a call with the appropriate City officials. There have been repeated sinkholes and uniform subsidence around the entire corner ROW since the stormwater project in 2018.
There has been an open ticket with public works (ID #4800069) for about a year now, and Sean McCarthy mentioned to me that there was an investigation into the storm drain in the right-of-way adjacent to my property. I have reached out to Mr. McCarthy and have not received an answer. I am simply hoping to understand the outcome of that investigation and review any associated records, and seeking a resolution to fix broken stormwater pipes, stop the sinkholes, and resolve the entire corner ROW from continuing to sink.
Yes, thank you. I did not intend to limit my request to records created after July 2025. Please treat PRR-499-2025 and PRR-647-2025 as requesting all responsive records without date limitation, including inspections, maintenance, or repair records, work orders, complaints, emails, notes, maps, engineering materials, and communications related to the storm drains near the corner Osborne Road & Grove Street, including any records connected to the investigation.
I read that the Open Records Act also provides that agencies identify which custodians were searched and include lawful withholding explanations for any records withheld under O.C.G.A. § 50-18-72(h). I would be grateful to receive that information along with the supplemental production, if applicable.
If records exist clarifying which specific drain Mr. McCarthy referenced, I’d appreciate receiving those as part of the response. If no such records exist, a brief written no-records determination would also be very helpful.
Thank you again for your time and assistance. I truly appreciate your help and look forward to the City’s full response within the next five (5) business days so this request can be resolved smoothly.
Warm regards,
Sarah Zeeman
On Tue, Dec 2, 2025 at 2:10 PM Jeremy T. Berry <JBerry@cglawfirm.com<mailto:JBerry@cglawfirm.com>> wrote:
Ms. Zeeman, good afternoon. I serve as City Attorney for the City of Brookhaven and write in response to your email below. I have attached a copy of your two most recent requests – PRR 499 and PRR 647.
I have copied your litigation counsel on this email out of an abundance of caution so he is aware of this matter. I am happy to communicate directly through him if that is your request given that you are represented by counsel and it is unclear whether this matter relates to your current litigation.
First, to the extent possible, the City believes it has produced what it is able to discern from your requests. The City has previously responded to requests PRR-303-2025, PRR-321-2025, and PRR-499-2025.
Second, regarding your request for records for work performed on the storm drain near Osborn Road and Grove Street, the City interpreted your request to refer to work performed on or after July 2025. There was no work done on the storm drain there in July 2025 or since then. Please let us know if your request sought records before July 2025.
Third, request PRR 499 asks the City “to clarify which storm drain Sean McCarthy is referring to.” The Open Records Act is a means to producing public records, not engaging in dialogue. If you have specific questions, please feel free to reach out to Sean directly.
Finally, I am happy to convene a call with the correct city officials to discuss and refine your request (perhaps even with specific search terms) so that the City can provide y