What turned out to be a slow start for building permits in RM of Rhineland has quickly become a race to beat last year's total.

In 2017 approximately $17.4 million had been issued for building permits. As of June 2018, nearly $9 million has been put forth, according to Reeve Don Wiebe.

This includes a total of 58 building permits spread throughout the municipality; 12 for new residential, worth $3.3 million; 28 for smaller residential such as housing additions, worth $1.4 million; and 18 for commercial, agricultural and industrial, worth $4.2 million.

"We had a slow start and a really busy spring, now it's going really well. We have reason to believe with that Rhineland West Ag Park coming on board, I know there's been a few more people taking an interest in that development, and so I expect something will come out of that. We're looking at a very strong finish for this year," Wiebe said.

The two years prior to 2017, the municipality had issued around $7 million in building permits, Wiebe said.

"It looks good. It means there's lots of things happening in Rhineland and we're very pleased about that," he said.