DALTON, Mass. — The sale of the last parcel of the land known as the Bardin property is being challenged. 

 

The town received four bids on the property: $30,000, $31,500, $51,000, and $51,510. Dicken Crane of Holiday Farm was the highest bidder at $51,510 but was not awarded the parcel. The 9.15-acre property is located off Route 9, right on the town line of Windsor. 

 

During a Select Board meeting on Nov. 10, the board awarded the final parcel to Thomas and Esther Balardini, who purchased the two other parcels that were under an Agricultural Preservation Restriction for $150,000. A fourth lot is in the town of Windsor. 

 

The Balardinis were the third highest bidder with at $31,500. Despite this, the board awarded it to them in an effort to keep the property intact.

 

Board member John Boyle's reasoning for the decision included how the family has proposed an agricultural development project and will allow public access to their land, including for hunting, and his concerns about rights-of-way issues.

 

"The property up there has already been purchased from the town by the Balardini family. They have been great stewards of the land which is what the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture looks for," he said. 

 

The final parcel is not under an APR. 

 

The motion passed with only board member Antonio "Tony" Pagliarulo voting against because of his belief the parcel should be sold to the highest bidder. 

 

"I also know that Dicken Crane is a longtime family. He has property in that area, too. I can imagine that, I would hope that he would also be a good steward as you've mentioned," he said. 

 

Crane attended the Nov. 24 Select Board meeting to clarify a couple of misconceptions he believed led to the board's decision. 

 

"There was a reference to the Balardinis as the only abutters. In fact, I am an abutter as well, but in Windsor … and I have access to that property," he said. 

 

Crane acknowledged that the board might not have known that because it is not shown on the  assessor's map. 

 

"I'm asking that you take into account that I also am an abutter, have access, and was the high bidder by over $20,000," he said. 

 

"I think the Select Board has a fiduciary responsibility to everyone in town to make a decision that is the best for everyone in town and I think that would be to take the higher bid." 

 

Crane cited state law that says "any sale of real property shall be awarded after advertisement-for-bids to the bidder who is the highest responsible bidder." 

 

"That's the law. So, I'm  asking that the Select Board follow the law," he said. 

 

Following the meeting, Boyle explained that the town's lawyer wrote in the request for bids that the town "reserves the right to reject any and all bids, to waive informalities in bids, to cancel this request for bids if it is in the town's best interest to do so, and to award the contract in the best interest of the town." 

 

In a follow-up, Crane said he is not giving up on purchasing the land. He mentioned that he has contacted the office of state Rep. Leigh Davis, which has provided him with helpful information. Crane plans to pursue this further.

 

During the meeting, resident Art Sanders said the board's decision was "shocking" considering it is a straightforward process and was done following little deliberation. 

 

He highlighted that it can be seen using state GIS maps that Crane is also an abutter of the property. 

 

The former owner of the property, Peter Bardin, spoke to clarify some information surrounding the property and requested that the property no longer be referred to as the Bardin property, as the town had owned it for several years. 

 

The struggle to sell the land was because of the board's lack of understanding of APR requirements, he said.

 

"I know the families, both of them, three to four generations of the Balardinis and the Cranes. So I'm not trying to take sides on anything here. I just want to go through and make sure everything is right on this," he said. 

 

Crane has far better access to that property because he does not have to use the right-of-way Boyle had described as "kind-of-sketchy" during the previous meeting, he said.

 

"In a matter of a few hours of excavation, he would have a road into that property with access all the way to Route 9 with far better visibility going into Route 9," Bardin said. 

 

Bardin said Crane is also a good stewardship of land highlighting his experience as a member of the state Environmental Trust, chairman of the Woodland Partnership, president of the state Forest Alliance, and chairman of the state Department of Conservation and Recreation Stewardship Council.