Old Lyme welcomes Wayland as town’s new building official

Old Lyme — The Board of Selectmen this week publicly thanked former building official John Flower as he began his retirement and welcomed Mark Wayland to his position as the town’s new building official.

Flower, who retired on Friday, became the town’s parttime assistant sanitarian in May 1999 and then full-time assistant sanitarian/assistant building official in December 1999, according to First Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder. He became the building official in March 2013.

Wayland, a scoutmaster for Lyme/Old Lyme Boy Scouts Troop 26 who ran a small carpentry business, started on Friday, as Flower departed his position, Reemsnyder confirmed.

As the selectmen thanked Flower during Monday’s Board of Selectmen meeting, they remarked on his hard work during Superstorm Sandy.

“I’ll never forget how hard he worked getting people online, as soon as it was safe to do so,” Selectwoman Mary Jo Nosal said. “He just didn’t quit.”

After most homes in the town’s beach communities lost power, Flower went from house to house to see if it would be safe to restore power to them, Reemsnyder said. With more than half of the homes needing to first be inspected by an electrician, Flower then returned to the homes to ensure everything was done properly.

Working every day well into the night, Flower ensured most homes were up and running within a week, except for the most challenging cases, she said.

“He brought professionalism and integrity to the office,” Reemsnyder added after the meeting. “He never made his own rules. He always went by the building code. He was fair to people, he tried to work with people, but he also believed in the code.”

Wayland took the test to become a certified building official earlier this year and passed on his first try, an unusual feat, Reemsnyder said.

Reemsnyder said Wayland has the same character, integrity and fairness as Flower, which was important to the town’s interview team.

“We were really looking for a good fit for the community, and we had confidence that he would have that same integrity, commitment to the community and understanding of the challenges that people face,” she said.