Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties (MBAKS) members, elected officials, and city staff gathered at the Bellevue Club on May 20 for our annual King County Elected Officials Reception. 

The event featured remarks from special guest Redmond Mayor Angela Birney, who highlighted steps the city has taken to expand housing choices. Redmond has been working to lower barriers to the full spectrum of homes needed to meet residents’ needs as the city grows and to leverage its access to light rail.

Attendees also heard from Dalton Smith — MBAKS’s King County Builders Council Chair and Director of Land Operations at Conner Homes — who reinforced that our members want to be partners with local jurisdictions in our shared work to make home happen.

Housing Champion Awards

MBAKS recognized Mayor Birney and Redmond’s Planning & Community Development Director Carol Hellend with Housing Champion Awards for their dedicated work on behalf of housing over the years. In presenting the awards, MBAKS Government Affairs Director Jennifer Anderson commended Mayor Birney and Director Hellend for being valued partners and leaders on housing.

Key Takeaways

Executive Director Jerry Hall closed the program with reminders about the importance of weighing the impacts of each new policy on housing and considering whether it will help or hinder the ability to build new homes.

In case you missed it, see our Middle Housing Barriers & Solutions resource we shared at the event, designed to help local communities facilitate a range of housing types. And learn more about our Room for What Matters campaign.

Thank you to all the elected officials from across the region, city staff, and MBAKS members who joined us for this fun and informative gathering. If you missed this event, there’s still time to register for the Snohomish County Elected Officials Reception – June 17, 4:30–6:30 p.m. at Rosehill Community Center, Mukilteo.

By Noah Haglund, The Everett Herald

Everett, Wash.—A united Snohomish County Council passed a budget Monday that staves off most public safety cuts with help from a modest property tax increase.

The spending plan for 2017 followed the contours that council Chairman Terry Ryan had recommended a week earlier. Ryan's budget, in turn, hewed closely to a $238 million plan that Executive Dave Somers unveiled in September, though the council softened cuts to key sheriff's office programs.

Every home starts long before the first wall goes up. There’s the planning, the permits, the framing, the rough mechanicals, the carpenters who bring it home. From foundation to roof, it takes a crew of experts who care about getting it right.

For many MBAKS members, that care doesn’t clock out when the work day ends. It shows up in their neighborhoods: building wheelchair ramps, repainting community centers, planting trees, advocating for improved housing policy, and mentoring the next generation of tradespeople.

It’s a side of the industry that doesn’t always make headlines. That’s exactly why we wanted to tell it.

Our “Showing Up for Our Communities” ads put real MBAKS members front and center. Their faces. Their pride in the work and in the places they call home. All in their words. Whether they’re giving back on a Saturday, creating good local jobs, or bringing community spaces back to life, one thing is clear: for MBAKS members, the job doesn’t stop at the job site.

You’ll find the campaign running across the region on TV, in The Seattle Times, on Sound Transit, and on social and digital channels.

See their stories at RoomForWhatMatters.com.