YOUR AD HERE »

Carbondale building inspector job garners 85 applicants

John Stroud
Glenwood Springs correspondent
Aspen, CO Colorado

CARBONDALE ” A national slowdown in the construction industry has spawned an amazing 85 applicants for an open Carbondale building inspector job.

But that same slowdown has the town rethinking its earlier plan to hire a full-time building official, a job for which it has relied on an outside contractor in the recent past.

“I’d say it’s a pretty unprecedented level of interest,” Carbondale Town Manager Tom Baker said of the number of applicants, adding it’s a likely reflection of the slowdown in construction both locally and nationally.



However, of the 85 applications the town has received for the position, only 16 are from local residents, he said.

Carbondale’s building inspector had been a full-time position until it became too hard to keep it filled for any length of time due to competition from more-lucrative jobs in the private sector. So the town started contracting out for the services a few years ago.




After re-evaluating that practice last year, town officials decided it would be more cost-effective to return to a full-time position for building inspections and other related duties.

Baker said the current contract building inspector, Kevin Roberts, opted against taking a staff position, so the town began taking applications. The position pays anywhere from $45,000 to $80,000, depending on experience.

However, the slowdown in building activity locally and a concerted effort on the town’s part to control spending amidst the economic downturn may change those plans.

To date, Carbondale has not seen a single housing start permit this year, compared to 17 through January and February last year. The five building permits the town has issued this year are for remodels, Baker said.

“We will be talking to the trustees at the end of March about how to make this work more effectively,” he said of the building inspector position.

One possibility could be to work with neighboring Basalt to share inspection services.

“If we do that we would delay hiring a full-time person,” he said. “But we would still likely need to hire someone part time to help with local (building code) enforcement.”

jstroud@postindependent.com