Building Inspectors Busy | Video

Chris Williams | 10/16/2012

The Williston building department set a record last year, approving 929 permits that totaled over $350 million in construction costs. Not even one year later, that record is on track to be surpassed.

So far this year, there have been 856 permits approved, and as the building department enters one if it`s busiest times of the year, they expect last year’s record to be broken.

"We`ve got huge huge projects going on. Steel structures, wood frame. Four, three bedroom apartments four stories high, three stories high and single family residence," said building inspector Al Christensen.

There are three building inspectors in the city. Two of them work on commercial buildings and another on residential housing.

"All day long we`re moving. I might go to the same site every day for a month straight. Between the three of us we`re trying to do plan review, and we`re grabbing our stuff and heading out," added Christensen.

With winter about two months away, construction crews are flooding the building department with permits. They want to get concrete poured before the ground freezes.

They are short staffed, and the permits are coming in at record breaking pace, but the building department is still managing to approve permits rather quickly.

"We`re under six weeks, and that`s pretty good for commercial projects and we`re less than two weeks for houses. That`s unheard of," Christensen added.

When building inspectors from other areas look at the number of permits in Williston, they often say it looks like a town of more than 300,000.

"It`s amazing. `04-`05 was this busy for me in the Seattle area, but it seems like it`s a little more crazy here. It`s really interesting, there`s a lot of different stuff going on here," added Christensen.

Williston has been named one of the fastest growing micropolitan cities in the country, and no one knows that better than the building inspectors.

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