Letter: Berkshire Community Action Council Rumors Hurt Fundraising Efforts

To the Editor:

Most of you are familiar with BCAC. We are the federally designated anti-poverty agency for Berkshire County, serving nearly 12,000 families each year. We work hard to maintain the trust and respect of the communities we serve.

Overseen by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities, we are required to comply each year with a rigorous 78 performance standards which govern all aspects of our organization. Proudly, we can boast that we are consistently 100 percent compliant with these standards which range from our community involvement, our transparency in reporting, our administration of programs, our financial accountability and much more. This positions us as one of the best run agencies in the commonwealth. Furthermore, as part of these standards, we are required to survey the community each year to assess satisfaction with our services.

This year, as in years past, we received an overwhelmingly positive response from our community. We just closed our online survey. With 436 individuals responding, 96.7 percent of those surveyed reported that they were either satisfied or very satisfied with the services they received and for how families were treated. We pride ourselves on our accountability using less than 10 percent of our revenues each year to pay for administration.

Given this, we were shocked to hear that there are members of our community who are spreading untruthful accusations about our programs. We pride ourselves on the collaborative way we work with our partners in the community. We have always recognized that we can accomplish more when we work together. We have shared our resources with the community, not looking for recognition but for the sheer satisfaction of knowing that we are able to help close service gaps and serve more families in need of help. So, these rumors are not only hurtful but very damaging to our programming and reputation.

This year, donors have reported that they have heard these damaging rumors, and it is impacting our ability to raise funds to purchase the coats and boots for our Children's Warm Clothing program. I want to assure you that we administer our programs under the highest standards and always with the utmost respect for our families and their well-being. I am asking if anyone is concerned about rumors you have heard, to please contact me directly so that I can address these issues personally.

I can be reached at dleonczyk@bcacinc.org or call the office at 413-445-4503.

Deborah Leonczyk
Pittsfield, Mass. 

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.