James Clark, the town’s building official, has retired as of May 1, complicating the continuing oversight needed for construction of the fire house.
First Selectman Henry Tirrell hopes to have an inspector from another town help out on a temporary basis, and the fire department is getting someone from a neighboring town to come.
There is a dearth of building officials in the Northwest Corner and currently six communities lack an official.
Approximately half of the towns surveyed by the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities reported that building inspector is the most difficult position to fill. Indeed, 89 percent of municipalities surveyed reported difficulty finding candidates to fill these positions.
A licensed building official in Connecticut must complete training programs focused on state building codes that range from single-day sessions to several months. After licensing, they must earn 90 hours of continuing education credits every three years to maintain certification.
Smaller towns are particularly challenged in finding officials because of lower pay scales. Many towns share inspectors and that is the course Tirrell expects to follow in coming months.