One indicator of how the economy is doing are how many sanitary permits are issued. It appears after several tough years, new construction in Oneida county is holding it's own.
Planning and Zoning Director Karl Jenrich says 2013 saw a small increase in numbers...
".....January through December of 2013, sanitary permits that allowed the installation of the septic system were up by approximately 50 permits. New homes were up by about 3 over 2012, and about 11 from 2011....."
Fees paid for the permits increased by about $10,000 from 2012. Jenrich says that increase shows some growth in building activity last year. He says so far in 2014, it's nearly equal to the number issued last year. He says even with the very cold weather and deep frost levels, they're still on pace with last year's totals.
But Jenrich says while there has been an uptick in new businesses, they're largely using existing buildings and new commercial construction is lagging...
"....the biggest one I think we had was the hanger facility up in the town of Woodruff last year. We really aren't seeing that activity in multi-family type developments like we did in the past....."
Jenrich says permit numbers were booming until about 2005, then there was a sharp down turn. Jenrich says he thinks the downturn in permits has hit bottom.