Pittsfield Conservation Commission Supports Acquisition of Saw Mill Property

PITTSFIELD, Mass. —The city is nearing its final stages of acquiring over 50 acres of conservation land along the southwest branch of the Housatonic River, also known as the Saw Mill property.

On Thursday, the Conservation Commission authorized a project agreement to buy the property and use $50,000 from its trust fund for the $400,000 purchase.  

The acquisition is supported by local and state funding.

"We are really excited about where we're at," Park, Open Space, and Natural Resource Program Manager James McGrath said.

"We have signed purchase and sale agreements and in fact, we put a deposit down on the sale as well. We're simply waiting for all of the funding to come into place and a critical piece of that funding is the Conservation Commission allocation to the project."

Pittsfield will own the land through the commission as a property protected under Article 97 of state law, which grants the right to a clean environment and authorizes the Commonwealth to acquire conservation easements.

Conservation agent Robert Van Der Kar pointed out that half of the $50,000 will be covered by a mitigation fee that was collected from the Taco Bell project on Dalton Avenue some time ago.

"We accepted money for that in order to be able to do a project like this," he said. "So we've been waiting a long time to use that money, and I couldn't think of a better mitigation project than this one."

The land consists of three parcels totaling 52.3 acres with 1/4 mile of frontage on the Housatonic River. They are bound by Barker Road and Velma Avenue to the south and to the east are bound by railroad tracks and Industrial Drive.

There is also a small portion on the north side of the river at the end of McKinley terrace.

Dalton Board Signs Off on Land Sale Over Residents' Objections

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:50AM / Tuesday, December 23, 2025

Residents demanded the right to speak but the agenda did not include public comment. Amy Musante holds a sign saying the town now as '$20,000 less for a police station.'

DALTON, Mass. — The Select Board signed the sale on the last of what had been known as the Bardin property Monday even as a handful of residents demanded the right to speak against the action. 

 

The quitclaim deed transfers the nine acres to Thomas and Esther Balardini, who purchased the two other parcels in Dalton. They were the third-highest bidders at $31,500. Despite this, the board awarded them the land in an effort to keep the property intact.

 

"It's going to be an ongoing battle but one I think that has to be fought [because of] the disregard for the taxpayers," said Dicken Crane, the high bidder at $51,510.

 

"If it was personal I would let it go, but this affects everyone and backing down is not in my nature." 

 

Crane had appealed to the board to accept his bid during two previous meetings. He and others opposed to accepting the lower bid say it cost the town $20,000. After the meeting, Crane said he will be filing a lawsuit and has a citizen's petition for the next town meeting with over 100 signatures. 

 

Three members of the board — Chair Robert Bishop Jr., John Boyle, and Marc Strout — attended the 10-minute meeting. Members Anthony Pagliarulo and Daniel Esko previously expressed their disapproval of the sale to the Balardinis. 

 

Pagliarulo voted against the sale but did sign the purchase-and-sale agreement earlier this month. His reasoning was the explanation by the town attorney during an executive session that, unlike procurement, where the board is required to accept the lowest bid for services, it does have some discretion when it comes to accepting bids in this instance.