WILLISTON (AP) - The North Dakota oil patch city of Williston is on track to set another record for building permits.
At the end of September, the city Building Department had approved 856 permits totaling nearly $288 million in construction. That's on pace to break last year's record of 929 permits totaling nearly $358 million.
Office manager Kelly Aberle tells The Forum newspaper that it "gets overwhelming at times."
The department has seven workers, up from three employees three years ago. Officials plan to add more staff, but space in the office is running out.
Williams County also is seeing a boom in construction. Building inspector Jim Horton says more inspectors are needed, but finding housing for them is a problem.