Town Building Department official stepping down: Lori Beard Raymond leaving after 5-plus years

Lori Beard Raymond, the building permit examiner of the Town’s Building Department, publicly announced her resignation effective Dec. 27 in a letter to the Reporter received Monday.

In her letter, Ms. Beard Raymond states: “The past five-plus years, as the building permits examiner of the Town Building Department, has been a great joy to me to help people navigate through the various Town processes and Town Code. After careful consideration over the course of the past year, it is time for me to resign to pursue other opportunities.”

Ms. Beard Raymond told the Reporter Monday that her decision to resign “has been in the works for a while. I have new opportunities to use all my skills that are not used by the Town. I’ve been limited in what I want to do”

Noting that she is a trained designer and Civil Service certified as a building inspector, planning examiner and zoning inspector, those skills were not being used in her current role in the Building Department.

On Friday, at the Town Board meeting, during a discussion of Town Code changes and clarifications of definitions used in the Code and its effect on zoning, Ms. Raymond spoke, saying she was present as a resident and not in her role as building permits examiner (shelterislandreporter.timesreview.com/2021/12/06/board-hears-residents-on-code-definitions-admits-slipshod-methods-asks-for-community-proposals/).

She made a plea to the Board “to slow down, help the public understand what you are proposing, and why, when it comes to changes. It needs to be proposed in a clear and concise manner so everyone understands the Town Code, which will apply to everyone.”

There will be another place to be filled in the Department, with Senior Building Inspector Chris Tehan retiring  this month. Ms. Beard Raymond, whose last day on the job will be Dec. 17 — she’s taking a week of vacation before her official resignation — said that was the same day as Mr. Tehan’s last day with the Town.

In light of Mr. Tehan’s retirement, it was reported in October that Supervisor Gerry Siller recommended that part-timer Brett Poleshuk become a full-time building inspector.

Ms. Beard Raymond said she would announce the new job she is taking “soon enough.” It will be on the Island, she said, adding that she’d had offers of employment from four other towns, but turned them down.

“I’m going to stay and help the people I live among, which is what I did with my work with the Town,” she said.