Jason Celestino, Building Inspector

Like so many of the men and women that have strong leadership roles in our town, Jason was also born and bred in Ridgefield. He went to Scotland Elementary School and graduated from Ridgefield High School, class of 1991. Jason did move away from Ridgefield for a while, but the job of assistant building inspector drew him back.

For Jason’s entire life he has been involved in all sorts of construction. After school and in the summers, Jason was always working for a contractor learning every possible construction skill. He knew the work involved long hours and heavy labor, but that is what he was all about. 

After high school Jason started working for a roofing company but knew he had to do more than that, therefore, he started going to Central Connecticut State University in the evenings. He got his B.S. in construction management and began working for one of the largest construction firms in the country, Whiting Turner Construction. While working for Whiting Turner he was sent all over the country working as a project manager. 

After getting tired of working 24-7 for Whiting Turner, with no life of his own, Jason returned to work with Bill Reynolds as Ridgefield’s assistant building inspector. Jason was certainly well qualified for the job with his heavy construction background but needed to get his building inspector license, which he did. Jason worked for Bill for three years and for the last three years he has overseen the department of building inspection. 

The only other real job Jason has had other than construction was also for the town of Ridgefield. While in school Jason worked for Daly Ridge Golf Course for sometimes 16 hours a day. He was the cart man in the morning and evening and during the day he ran the driving range. He still remembers how boring it was to watch people hitting golf balls all day long.

Jason’s typical day as building inspector starts before 8 a.m. when he meets with his office manager to set his schedule. There are e mails, phone calls, permits and violations to review, technical issues, etc.  Then he is on the road for the rest of day. Most of his inspections are for additions or renovations or for installing a generator. With COVID and people moving out of the city, his office has had a lot more inspections to schedule. Transactions and decisions are also made much more quickly now with texting and emails.  

Each of Jason’s inspections is different than the one before it. Some take two minutes. Some may take twenty minutes or two hours. Jason is basically looking at a check list to see that the homeowner or business is properly complying. For a house built in 1950’s the regulations are much different than for a house built today. 

If a homeowner or builder is not in compliance, Jason will return when they comply for a future inspection. In some cases, Jason must return several times before he offers a certification of occupancy or compliance. One of Jason’s most unique experiences had to do with a garage that was not built with a beam that could support the surrounding walls. The walls were bowing out and the garage was about to collapse. The owner did not see this problem until it was pointed out to him.