After more than 30 years on the job, Leonard (“Lenny”) Jason is leaving his post as Edgartown’s building inspector.
Jason has served the town since 1986. In an Oct. 11 letter sent to selectmen, Jason informed the board he would be leaving his post on Nov. 30. While he refers to it as a resignation, Jason will be retiring, and receive a pension, according to town administrator James Hagerty.
“Please accept this as my letter of resignation,” Jason wrote. “It has been both a pleasure and an honor to serve the town since 1986. My decisions have not always been popular, but I can honestly say I believe them to have been fair and in the best interests of the community.”
Hagerty told The Times the building commissioner position will be posted in the next two weeks, with interviews shortly after. The town hopes to have someone in place on Dec. 1.
Jason’s father was a fisherman, and moved the family to the Island in 1963 after spending summers here.
“I’m 75 years old,” Jason said speaking to The Times by phone Tuesday. “It’s getting harder to climb ladders.”
During his tenure, Jason has overseen numerous projects in Edgartown and around the Island, including the rebuild of the Dyke Bridge. Jason was serving in Vietnam in 1969 during the Chappaquiddick incident that resulted in the death of Mary Jo Kopechne.
His favorite house on the Island is the Meinelt House on South Road in Chilmark. The historic 1713 federalist-style home has remained in the same family since its construction by Zaccheus Mayhew, according to the Massachusetts Historical Commission. The current owner, Walter Meinelt, is a direct descendent of Mayhew. The home was renovated in 2015.
Jason is also under contract as the building inspector for Aquinnah, and is the building inspector and zoning enforcement officer in Chilmark. In Chilmark, his FY2020 salary is $26,057 for working 11 hours a week.
Reade Kontje Milne, Edgartown’s current assistant building inspector, is expected to apply for the position.
“I’ve had the good fortune to have the support of the board of selectmen I’ve worked for,” Jason said, reflecting on his time in the building department.
His advice to the next building commissioner? “Listen and use common sense.”
