Harwich Finally Hires Full-time Building Commissioner

HARWICH – The select board on Monday confirmed the appointment of Eleanor MacKay as the town’s building commissioner. The town has been functioning without a full-time building commissioner for more than a year.

The board reaffirmed the appointment made by Acting Town Administrator Tony Schiavi.

The select board affirmed MacKay’s appointment on a 5-0 vote. Both Select Board Chair Donald Howell and board member Anita Doucette, who served as town clerk for many years, said they thought MacKay would be the first female to serve as a building commissioner in Harwich.

MacKay is a certified building official/building commissioner and a licensed architect with experience designing and

overseeing the construction of buildings ranging from two-story structures to high-rise towers, according to her resume.

“I have a dedicated work ethic, strive for excellence in everything, and I find working with people in creative environments rewarding,” she wrote.

Schiavi said MacKay has more than 30 years experience and has her state building commissioner license and certification.

“She’s a great person and is going to do a great job with the staff and will have excellent communications with the building community and those seeking permits, both builders and homeowners looking for renovations,” Schiavi said. “We’re really excited about her getting started as our building commissioner. Should the select board affirm the appointment, it has my full support and recommendation behind it.”

“I’m very excited to get started and to work with the team in Harwich,” MacKay said Tuesday.

 MacKay has been working as the assistant zoning compliance agent in Falmouth for two-and-a-half years. She served as a senior associate for more than 20 years at Schopfer Associates, a Boston-based architectural and interior design firm. She has a bachelor of architecture degree from Roger Williams University.   

 MacKay has another municipal credential that may be helpful in her new position: she served on the finance committee in Duxbury for five years.

  She has also worked for the town of Hingham overseeing land use and development. In that capacity she was a senior staff liaison to the affordable housing trust and board of appeals, facilitating support in developing affordable housing, according to her LinkedIn profile. 

The town has had a series of short term commissioners since Raymond Chesley left abruptly in 2021. It took six months to locate a replacement for Chesley. Robert Piccirilli was hired and lasted six months. The last full-time building commissioner was Jack Mee, who was hired in 2022 and retired in July 2024. A year ago, Town Administrator Joseph Powers appointed Randy Spears, a Florida resident, to replace Mee. Spear was scheduled to start work on Sept. 23, 2024 and work remotely through Oct. 18, 2024.

 The plan never materialized as Powers and Spears had a disagreement and Spears decided to remain in Florida. The building department has been functioning with part-time building commissioner services since.

According to the letter to MacKay announcing the appointment, her annual salary will be $100,789. There is also a standard six-month probationary period associated with the appointment. MacKay said she is planning to start work on Sept. 22.