Dalton Board Signs Off on Land Sale Over Residents' Objections
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.'
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.
Close to a dozen people attended this Monday's meeting, which had one item on the agenda: to "discuss and act upon transfer of [the] North Street parcel to Thomas and Esther Balardini."
The agenda did not have public comment and residents were not happy about that.
"I'd like to protest that there's no comment period," resident Henry Rose said, adding that residents deserved an explanation.
"You're out of order," Bishop said, repeating that several times during the meeting as residents expressed concern with the board's decision.
"Aren't you supposed to listen to the people who elected you into those positions?" Natalia Soborski asked, and Cheryl Rose said the board took an oath to serve the public interest.
"We just want an explanation," Rose said.
"It was in the paper," Bishop responded to the complaints and Strout noted it had been on the agenda before, and when the board signed the purchase-and-sale agreement.
Resident Amy Musante, who held a sign saying "Congratulations, we now have $20,000 less for a Police Station" said she attended the previous meeting via Zoom and was not given an opportunity to speak.
In a document Crane was going to read into the record, he said the board "has a fiduciary responsibility to the taxpayers of Dalton … I've spoken to over a hundred who have signed my petition. Universally their response to the Select Boards decision to sell the land to a lower bidder doesn't make any sense."
Crane said that while looking into an appeal of the board's decision, it was recommended by the state Attorney General's Office and the Inspector General's Office to resolve the situation in court.
"I know that will be costly, particularly costly to the town," he said. "I don't want the town to be out the $20,000 more that I'm willing to pay for the property, and also be out the cost of the litigation to have the logical and appropriate and legal decision which would be to award the bid to the highest bidder."
Tags: land sales,
