A building boom is definitely underway here this year.
The town’s building department has issued 98 permits for $14.5 million worth of construction to the end of June. That’s up from 67 permits worth $5.8 million for the same period in 2014.
Chief building official Terry Kuipers told council at the July 7 the 10-year rolling average for 12 months is about $14.7 million.
“So basically I’ve done a whole year’s worth of work to this point,” he quipped.
Kuiper said the building department had “another busy month in June,” with 27 permits issued for construction worth $2.3 million. That contrasts with the previous year, when only 13 permits for $265,000 worth of construction were issued in June.
Mayor George Bridge said he was pleased to see building activity “spread out” through the municipality.
Tons of barns
Kuipers noted permits had been issued for three new houses, a fourplex and a tri-plex in Clifford.
“And I usually only do one new unit in Clifford for a year,” he pointed out.
Agricultural construction was the largest factor in the June increase, with eight permits for construction worth $1.43 million issued during the month, compared to zero permits of that nature the previous year.
“We’ve got tons of barns going up – it’s just fabulous,” said Kuipers.
Year to date, institutional construction, with six permits for just over $6 million worth of projects has been the busiest sector in 2015.
In 2014, only seven institutional permits were issued for $174,000 worth of construction in the first half of the year.
Asked if construction figures were surging in nearby communities as well, Kuipers said “some adjacent municipalities are busy, some aren’t.
“It’s good News for us so that’s all I’m concerned about.”
