By NANCY WEST, InDepthNH.org

CONCORD – The Department of Safety responded Thursday to questions InDepthNH.org emailed last Sunday about that day’s NASCAR races that asked how many State Police assisted, how much it cost and for a copy of its contract with NASCAR.

InDepthNH.org posed the questions on Sunday to the Joint Information Center that was set up to respond to questions during the pandemic and was not filed as a right-to-know request, but rather as questions about that day’s event. Gov. Chris Sununu had already posted photos of himself speaking at the event and aerial photos of the crowd on Twitter that day.

On Thursday, Karen A. Schlitzer, senior staff counsel in the Office of the Commissioner, said the questions had been forwarded to her.

“In light of the scope of your request, the workloads, and availability of personnel participating in the processing of your request, and any potential impact of COVID-19, I estimate that I will need until September 22 to determine the extent of available records in accordance with RSA 91-A and applicable case law.

“Your request below was forwarded to me for handling.  With regard to the recent NASCAR event, you requested the following:

1.       Number of State Police that helped with the event

2.       Cost of State Police helping with the event

3.       Our contract with NASCAR

4.       Aerial photos of the event

5.       Whether CARES Act money paid or whether State funds were used on the event”