Replacement hired for controversial building commissioner
There is a new building commissioner in Wareham.
The town hired Chris Carchia, a carpenter and the chair of the Scituate Zoning Board of Appeals, to replace the recently retired Paul Turner.
Carchia began his role as building commissioner on Sept. 21, according to Assistant Town Manager and Director of Human Resources Dorene Allen-England.
As building commissioner, Carchia will oversee the town’s Department of Inspectional Services and the building inspectors it employs.
Turner, who had been commissioner in Wareham since 2022, retired on Sept. 24.
Turner has come under fire from residents and local businesspeople for years.
In 2024, Turner published a memo saying that the department would not inspect any work that was done under expired open permits. Work permits must be closed out 180 days after being opened. Open permits can make lenders and homebuyers wary during housing sales, as they might see them as the source of a problem with the house.
Resident Nancy Roy said that she had open permits from 2015 which Turner refused to close. A potential homebuyer’s lender refused to sign off on a mortgage because of the open permit.
Turner said that enforcing this policy was required by Massachusetts building code.
But building commissioners in nearby towns and local real estate agents said Turner’s refusal to help residents close out open permits was unusual.
Most recently, a number of Turner critics spoke at the Aug. 18 Select Board meeting. Property owner Joe Crepeau described his experience working with Turner as feeling “arbitrary, capricious, contradictory and confrontational.”
When asked about rumors surrounding Turner serving as an inspector for the town on a contract basis, Allen-England replied: “Paul Turner is no longer an employee of the town. He is happily retired.” She would not comment further about whether Turner would have any future involvement with inspection work in Wareham.
Allen-England said that Carchia would not be available for an interview.
