november december chalk line (2)

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E

From the President .................... 2

From the EO .............................. 3

Health Care Reform Facts ........... 6

Three Home Shows in 2013 ..... 10

Five Counties StrongServing

Thurston, Lewis, Grays Harbor, Pacific & Mason Counties

BUILDING STRONG COMMUNITIESONE HOME AT A TIME.

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2012

NAHB Sues U.S. Fish & Wildlife Over Mazama Pocket Gopher and Other Species

1211 State Avenue NEOlympia, WA 98569

360-754-0912 800-456-6473www.omb.org

See “Gopher” page 15

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) notified the United States Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) in late August that NAHB was planning to sue USFWS for violations of the En-dangered Species Act, specifically the process for considering the listing of 251 species, including the Mazama Pocket Gopher.

In 2011 USFWS settled a series of lawsuits with two environmental advocacy organizations, Wild Earth Guardians and Center for Biological Diversity. As part of the settlement agreement USFWS agreed to a rigid schedule for acting on listing decisions and in doing so abandoned the statutorily required process for determining the priority of listing rulemakings.

NAHB noted, “Specifically, the USFWS has forgone the required process for 251 species where there has been a “warranted but precluded” finding. NAHB’s members have a vested interest in that process and have been harmed by this violation of the ESA.”

The annual Olympia Master Builders (OMB) holi-day celebration event will take place on Friday, December 7 at 6:00 p.m. at Indian Summer Golf & Country Club.

The Association officers for 2013 will be installed into office and awards for 2012 will also be presented. After the awards ceremony, there will be socializing and dancing. Each year, OMB members donate to a charitable organization. This year, 2012 OMB President James Peterson has asked that donations be collected for City Gates Ministries. The organization assists people in Thurston County in emergency and hardship situations. They are in need of gently used clothing, furniture, food, diapers and other baby

2012 Installation andAwards Celebration

items, and cash. Guests who donate will receive raffle tickets for great prizes.

Please RSVP to Regina at 360-754-0912 or [email protected]. You may also register to attend at www.omb.org. Cost to attend is $50/person and includes a fabulous dinner.

Thank you to event spon-sors Olympia Overhead Doors, J.A. Goldstein Law Office, PLLC, and ABC Printing.

See page 7 for award winners.

Olympia Master Builders / Chalk Line November/December 20122

By James PetersonPresident

OMB Met Challenges in 2012

Since this is the final issue of Chalk Line for 2012, I would like to take this opportunity to thank each one of you for the privilege of serving as your Olympia Master Builders (OMB) President this year. I have really en-joyed getting to know many of you better and working alongside you throughout this past year.

I started this year by stating that I thought our biggest challenge in 2012 would be to transform OMB in a way that will continue to meet our members’ needs so we can grow and build on our common

From the President

strengths. I said we need to en-sure OMB remains relevant for our members.

As the end of the year approaches, I can look back and say I believe we made great progress toward that challenge.

One of the steps we took in that direction happened earlier this year when OMB’s board of directors approved the idea of creating an on-line and printed buyer’s guide for 2013. Rather than printing an internal membership directory, we realized our members will benefit more by OMB producing a buyer’s guide that will be distributed to the general public and by having enhanced listing ads on OMB’s website.

Another change in 2012 was how we promoted our home shows. For

all three home shows, we purchased extra signs to increase awareness in the community the weekend of the show. For our Big Home and Garden Show, we experimented with sever-al new ideas – large banners placed at member businesses’ that had high traffic visibility; several sign wavers on high traffic intersections during the show hours, a direct mail piece, some different types of advertising in The Olympian, etc. The result – we saw a 40% increase in show attendance and our exhibi-tors, who are mostly OMB members, were very happy.

Just last month OMB hosted a Critical Areas Ordinance Summit to educate our members and the general public about the recently adopted Thurston County Critical Areas Ordinance. Two OMB mem-ber land use attorneys, Heather Burgess and Mick Phillips of Phillips,

Wesch, Burgess presented valuable information to OMB members.

As we head into 2013, there are still challenges for us. Before you receive this issue of Chalk Line, Thurston County will have held their final public hearing before creating im-pact fees for this county. It’s ironic that other jurisdictions around the state have either repealed their impact fees, reduced the fees or delayed the collection time in recog-nition of the way they hamper eco-nomic development and Thurston County is implementing them!

At the end of this year, I will hand my gavel over to your 2013 President, John McKinlay. I encourage all OMB members to support John and get involved. Remember this associa-tion is only as strong as the collec-tive efforts of our members.

In January Olympia Master Builders (OMB) members and the commu-nity will be receiving something new – the “Everything for the Home” 2013 OMB Buyer’s Guide.

The Buyer’s Guide will provide OMB members and the community with a single source for all their home needs. The Buyer’s Guide will also contain relevant articles, tips for hiring a contractor and other home related information to educate consumers.

“We originally planned to print 10,000 copies, but because advertis-ing sales were so strong we are now

Watch for the 2013 OMB Buyer’s Guide

going to be able to print 15,000 cop-ies to distribute to the community at OMB home shows, Tour of Homes, community events, at OMB member businesses, through direct mail or as an insert into local newspapers,” commented OMB President, James Peterson.

Peterson added, “As the local home building organization we wanted to make things easier for the consumer with one stop shopping which will cut down on the time and effort people have to spend to find qual-ity contractors for any home need. I believe the 2013 OMB Buyer’s Guide is a benefit for the community and

also a benefit to OMB members.”

If you are interested in displaying the “Ev-erything for the Home” 2013 OMB Buyer’s Guide at your business in 2013, please contact [email protected] or 360-754-0912

SAMPLE

3November/December 2012 Olympia Master Builders / Chalk Line

By Laura Worf,Executive Officer

Change is Constant

From the Executive Officer

They say “Change is constant.” I’m not sure who “they” is, but “they” appear to be right. We’ve certainly seen a lot of change in this industry over the past few years. Earlier this month we saw some changes with our election results. And as we head into the final few weeks of 2012, it looks like change will continue to be with us into 2013 and beyond.

Elections – This was a big election year on the federal, state and county level. The Affordable Housing Coun-cil of Olympia Master Builders (TAHC) endorsed 30 candidates – 17 won and 13 lost. Seven of the 17 that won will be new to their office.

On the federal level the results were a mixed bag with two endorsed candidates (Jaime Herrera Beutler and Derek Kilmer) winning and two endorsed candidates (Dick Muri and Michael Baumgartner) losing.

Statewide race results were disap-pointing. Only two candidates (Brad Owen and Kim Wyman) won, while four lost (Rob McKenna, Reagan Dunn, Clint Didier and Richard Sanders).

TAHC endorsed candidates did much better in the legislatives races – seven endorsed candidates won (Randi Becker, Gary Alexander, JT Wilcox, Richard DeBolt, Ed Orcutt, Jim Hargrove, and Drew MacEwen) and two lost (Dan Swecker and Dan Griffey).

A very bright spot was the Mason County Commissioners’ race – all three endorsed candidates won

their elections (Tim Shelton, Randy Neatherlin and Terri Jeffreys). In Lewis County, two of the three en-dorsed commissioner candidates won (Edna Fund and Bill Schulte).

The Lewis County District 1 race was a little interesting because there were two solid candidates – incum-bent Ron Averill and challenger, Centralia City Councilwoman Edna Fund. TAHC decided to endorse both candidates, given their strong support of the industry.

In Grays Harbor Wes Cormier won, but Allan Shores lost. In Pacific County both TAHC endorsed can-didates lost (Scott McDougall and Richard Makowski). And last but not least, in Thurston County Andrew Barkis lost.

Health Care Act – With the reelec-tion of President Barack Obama, the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, also know as Obamacare is quite certain. On page six of this issue of Chalk Line there is informa-tion about this new law.

A representative from the BIAW Health Insurance Program will be speaking at the January General Membership Dinner meeting which will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 8 at Indian Summer Golf & County Club. Don’t miss this op-portunity to hear specifics on this new law.

BIAW Commercial Insurance – In November, the Building Industry Association of Washington’s (BIAW) Board of Directors approved a new membership benefit – Commercial Insurance.

For the past year, BIAW has been working with several insurance agent members to create commer-cial insurance policies for general liability insurance and warranty in-

surance that would provide BIAW members better coverage than is currently being offered in the market.

All BIAW insurance agent members will have the opportunity to provide these new commercial insurance products. We will get more details to you in OMB’s weekly electronic newsletter, Chalk Talk, as they be-come available from BIAW.

OMB Leadership – As the end of the year approaches, it signals the

time for change in OMB leadership. 2012 OMB President James Peterson will be stepping aside for 2013 OMB President John McKinlay.

This has been a year of change for OMB President James Peterson. Through it all he has continued to be a strong leader for OMB. Right behind him is another strong leader John McKinlay who will work hard with OMB’s board and staff to deal with changes as they come our way in 2013.

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Thurston County Hearings Examiner

Mason County Shoreline Master Program

Mason County is in the process of updating their Shoreline Master Program. The City has organized a Citizen’s Advisory Committee to help review and evaluate the SMP. Paul Muldoon, Mason County Resident and OMB member representative has been appointed to the Citizen’s Advisory Committee.

Visit http://www.co.mason.wa.us/community_dev/shoreline_master_pro-gram/ for additional information.

The City of Olympia worked with a consultant to prepare a Park Impact Fee Rate Study. Changes to the impact fee rate would most likely be implemented as part of the Imagine Olympia Comprehensive Plan update, scheduled to be adopted by the end of the year. If the Comp Plan process is not finished the City Council wants the new fee rate implemented by January 1, 2013; so a separate and independent annual amendment to the Parks chapter would be necessary.

For more information about any of these issues, contact OMB’s Government Affairs Director, Angela White at 360-754-0912 or email [email protected].

Olympia Master Builders (OMB) is currently working on and/or monitoring several issues related to the building industry. Visit www.omb.org to see a list of issues. Below are a few recent highlights which include links to further information. To easily access these links go to the online version of Chalk Line at www.omb.org/news.

Government Affairs Report - The Latest Highlights

Lewis County Impact Fees

Lewis County will be holding a public hearing on implementing impact fees in the County at the end of November. The County is looking at impact fees due to a proposed fully contained community. OMB is looking into the details at this time.

City of Shelton Shoreline Master Program

The City of Shelton is in the process of updating their Shoreline Master Program. They have organized a Citizen’s Advisory Committee. OMB staff has been appointed to the citizen’s advisory committee.

Thurston County Impact Fees

The Thurston County Commissioners held a second public hearing on im-posing impact fees on Thursday, November 8. OMB staff testified during the public hearing. At this time the Commissioners are reviewing the informa-tion and testimony and will be making a final decision in December.

Visit http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/planning/impact/impact_home.html for additional information.

Mandatory Fire Sprinklers in Olympia

The Olympia City Council’s Land Use and Environment Committee passed a recommendation to the full City Council to adopt Appendix R & S as part of the code update at the end of this year after hearing a one-sided presenta-tion from the Fire Marshall. Appendix R & S would mandate fire sprinklers in all residential construction. OMB and BIAW staff received personal invita-tions to attend the meeting but were NOT given time to speak. During the meeting a sprinkler demonstration was given in which the speaker heavily relied on the danger of battery operated smoke detectors; OMB staff made sure to point out during the presentation, that hardwired smoke detectors are now mandated in all new construction. OMB and BIAW teamed up and submitted comment against the mandate.

City of Olympia Park Impact Fee Increase

Olympia Shoreline Master Program

The Olympia City Council recently proposed reducing restrictions to de-velopment on the shorelines from what was proposed by the Planning Commission. Most of the restrictions will still be greater than the current plan. The Council plans to put forth a draft SMP that will go out for public comment at the beginning of next year.

Centralia Fire Flow Requirements

OMB members and staff have been working to repeal the fire flow require-ment in the Centralia UGA for several months. In June OMB staff was asked to give a presentation to the City Council. Unfortunately, the Centralia City Council voted 4-3 not to remove fire flow regulations in the UGA of Centralia. Three of the four voting against the removal of the regulations sit on the Riverside Fire Authority Board. The fourth vote, Councilmember Henderson, voted against repealing the fire flow regulations because he wants to keep the Council focused on the problems with the Growth Management Act and he also wants the Council to consider adjusting the UGA boundary to give more land back to the County. He stated during the meeting that if he voted for the repeal of the fire flow regulations in the UGA the Council would feel that they had fixed the problems and would not continue to work on those larger issues.

Ron Deering, Jeff Paintier and Angela White were invited to participate in a focus group pertaining to how the Hearing Examiner services are deliv-ered. The County is looking at two different models, one of those being the hiring of an in-house Hearing Examiner. The County Commissioners will be making the final decision on this issue. At this time, a date for the decision in not known.


By Angela White,Government Affairs Director

Government Affairs Report

Most of you working in the building industry are aware of impact fees. An impact fee is a fee charged by government entities on new home construction to cover the cost of infrastructure and related services. A fee can be charged for parks, roads, schools and fire. Although impact fees are lawful, they remain fundamentally inequitable.

The reality of impact fees is that they are a tax placed on a small segment of the population - the segment purchasing new homes. Many people who purchase new homes are simply relocating within the same community, which creates no additional growth or impact. The same burden is not placed upon a family renting or purchasing a pre-owned home, even if they come from outside of the area.

According to an October 12 press release from the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW), “new home construction provided 41,000 jobs in Washington State in 2011, even in its recession-weak-ened state. With 300,000 Washing-tonians out of work, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the jobs and the economy are critical issues.

While it’s no surprise that Washing-ton’s largest private employers are Boeing and Microsoft, what most probably don’t know is that the new home construction industry is the state’s third-largest employer. The research estimates that the first-year impact of 13,825 new single-family homes is nearly $3.1 billion in state and local revenues, $629 million in state and local government rev-

Impact Fees, Impact Fees, Impact Fees

enues and 41,000 jobs. Over time, the occupancy phase easily swamps the impact of direct construction and its ripple effect. In the next 10 years, the 13,825 single-family homes built in 2011 will provide 7,231 permanent, full-time jobs, $7.3 billion in local income and $2.6 billion in tax revenue.”

Unfortunately, most of the revenue generated above goes directly into the general fund instead of pay-ing for community infrastructure and many local governments still take the stance that evil, revenue generating growth must also pay for infrastructure through impact fees along with all the money they supply the general fund.

What’s new with impact fees locally?

I will start with the good news first and then things go downhill from there. This year, the hard work of several members of the Lewis County Chapter, and a working rela-tionship with the Realtors® in Lewis County paid off as we successfully worked to have school impact fees repealed in the City of Napavine. The City had implemented these impact fees several years ago and had not collected a dime to date.

WHAT! Impact Fees in Lewis County! We recently got word that Lewis County is looking to implement impact fees due to a request for a fully contained community. In the past, the Lewis County Com-missioners have always stated to our membership that they do not support impact fees. Well in this case, their understanding is they may not have a choice because of the following:

RCW 36.70a.350New fully contained communities.“…(1) A new fully contained com-munity may be approved in a county planning under this chapter if criteria including but not limited

to the following are met: (a) New infrastructure is provided for and impact fees are established consistent with the requirements of RCW 82.02.050…”

There will be a public hearing on Monday, November 26 at 10:00 a.m. in the Commissioners Hearing room on the 2nd floor of the Historical Courthouse in Chehalis, WA. We are currently gathering information and getting legal advice concerning this issue.

In Thurston County it looks like impact fees are and have been a foregone conclusion. We didn’t go down without a fight. At a June public hearing I and several other Olympia Master Builder (OMB) members and community members testified against impact fees.

The Commissioners decided to hold an additional public hearing after the elections this November. At this hearing there were several people speaking for the implementation of impact fees as a way to slow growth and/or make growth pay for itself. Since it was apparent to me that the Commissioners intend to imple-

ment impact fees, I also requested that if the Commissioners move forward that they grant the building industry three things:• theoptiontodelaypaymentofimpact fees until closing,

• towaituntilAprilorlatertobegincollecting impact fees. I stressed that the builders in this community stand on their reputation and as they are quoting clients they should not be forced to go back to a client and raise a quote by $8,000 due to new, immediate impact fees,

• to implement the impact feesin stages similar to what the City of Tumwater did with their recent impact fee increase.

Even though the public hearing is over, I encourage you to reach out to your Commissioners and request these options also.

So that I don’t end on a completely sour note I advise you to please re-read paragraph three and pat yourself on the back for all you do to give back to your community. Even if you do this thanklessly, you are the backbone of the economy.

What Others Are Saying

“The number of U.S. housing markets showing con-sistent improvement in three key measures of strength expanded by 22 in November to a total of 125, ac-cording to the National Association of Home Builders/First American Improving Markets Index released on November 6, 2012.

This marks a third consecutive monthly gain for the index, which now includes representatives from across 38 states as well as the District of Columbia.”

National Association of Home Builders.


The Affordable Care Act is reshaping the manner in which all of us think about health care and health insurance. Over the next few months and years, as the various pieces of the law take effect, it will be important for everyone to understand how the changes being made effect you, your employees, and your business.

In the upcoming weeks and months our membership team along-side the BIAW Health Insurance program administrator, EPK & As-sociates, will be providing you with detailed information on what to expect from the changing health care environment and how to make the most of the changes.

Health Care Reform

Topic: Employer Mandate - “Play or Pay Penalty”

Background: The Play or Pay penalty which begins in 2014, states that large employers (those employing 50 or

more full-time equivalent employees) will be subject to a penalty if one or more full-time employees received a

tax credit or cost-sharing reduction (a “Subsidy”) based on one of the following conditions:

1. The employer doesn’t offer coverage or

2. The coverage offered by the employer either does not provide minimum value or is unaffordable to the

employee.Note: If you have less than 50 full time (or full time equivalent) employees, this requirement does not pertain to you.

Topic: Medical Loss Ratios or MLR

Background: The Affordable Care Act requires health insurance issuers to submit data on the proportion of pre-

mium revenue spent on clinical services and quality improvement versus administration costs. Large group plans

(over 50 employees) must spend at least 85% of premium dollars on claims and activities to improve health care

quality. Individual and small group insurers must spend at least 80% of premium dollars on claims and activities to

improve health care quality. If they fail to meet these standards, they will be required to provide a rebate to their

customers starting in 2012. Rebates must be paid by August 1st each year.

Topic: Summary of Benefit and Coverage (SBC)

Background: As directed by the Affordable Care Act, health insurance companies will soon provide consumers

with documents detailing, simple and consistent information about health plan insurance policy benefits and

coverage. The goal is to help consumers better understand the coverage they have. Health insurance companies

will be required to make available a uniform glossary of health-coverage and medical terms commonly used in

those documents, such as “deductible” and “Co-pay”.

Topic: Pre Existing Conditions

Background: Under the Affordable Care Act, if you have a pre-existing condition, insurance companies will not be

allowed to deny you coverage based on that condition. For children under the age of 19, this protection was phased

in beginning on September 23, 2010. For adults aged 19 and older, it will be phased in beginning on January 1,

2014. Insurers will have to accept everyone who wants to purchase a plan, regardless of their health status.

Topic: Dependent Coverage for Children Up Until the Age of 26

Background: Plans that provide coverage for dependents are required to extend the coverage of dependents to

age 26, regardless of their eligibility for other insurance coverage, effective September 23, 2010. Plans must pro-

vide coverage to all eligible dependents, including those who are not enrolled in school, not dependents on their

parents’ tax returned, and those who are married.

Through your membership in Olympia Master Builders, your com-pany has access to a knowledgeable and trusted staff of employee benefit professionals who can help you navigate the upcoming challenges and opportunities of the Affordable Care Act. Please see the information below provide by EPK & Associates and if you are interested in learning more about the BIAW Health Insurance Program, please contact the OMB office at 360-754-0912 or go to www.omb.org.

Quick Facts - What it means to you


Best of Show – (Production) SoundBuilt NW – Lacey plan

Best of Show (Custom) The Artisans Group

Judges’ Special Award for Best Practical Use of Built Green®

Features Lexar Homes

Best Curb AppealSchneider Homes, Inc.

Best KitchenScott Homes

Best Master SuiteNorthwest Family Homes, Inc. –

Briggs Village

Best Floor PlanThe Artisans Group

Best Remodel Olympia Construction, Inc.

Best Built Green® FeaturesScott Homes

The Olympia Master Builders (OMB) hosted the OMB Tours of Homes™ award ceremonies at the October 2 General Membership Dinner Meet-ing, which was held at Indian Sum-mer Golf & Country Club.

According to 2012 OMB President James Peterson, “This year’s tour included thirteen homes, repre-sented by eleven builders. There were eleven new homes, and two remodel projects. These new and remodeled homes demonstrated to the community our builders’ passion for excellence.”

Builders for this year’s Tour included: The Artisans Group; Deering & Nelson, Inc.; DeTray’s, LLC; Dickey’s Remodel & Repair; Evergreen State Builders; Lexar Homes; Northwest Family Homes, Inc.; Olympia Con-struction, Inc.; Schneider Homes, Inc.; Scott Homes; and SoundBuilt NW, LLC.

The public at large voted on homes for the People’s Choice Awards. A team of industry experts, from out-side the Thurston County area com-prised the panel of judges, to select the Judges’ Awards. Judges looked at overall first impressions, atten-tion to detail, balance and function, relationship of design to site, special features and more in deciding who should get top honors.

To see photos of all the homes, go to www.omb.org. Look under the “Current Events” tab to find a link to the 2012 Tour of Homes™.

Chair Karen McClennen of The Olympian thanked her Committee Members: Erik Barrett of RSVP of Olympia; Sarah Huffer of KGY Radio – AM 1240 & 96.9 KAYO Country; Julie Manker of The Olympian; Greg Stevens of Mixx 96.1 FM and Eileen Ryan of Scott Homes.

OMB thanks our returning Silver Sponsor, Olympia Federal Savings, and Bronze Sponsors, Puget Sound Energy.

Thank you to returning Media Spon-sors, The Olympian and Mixx 96.1 FM KXXO.

OMB 2012 Tour of Homes™ Awards

The People’s Choice Award Winners

Best Curb Appeal Evergreen State Builders

Best KitchenEvergreen State Builders

Best Master SuiteEvergreen State Builders

Best Floor PlanDeering & Nelson, Inc.

Best Remodel Dickey’s Remodel & Repair

Best Built Green® FeaturesScott Homes

Best of ShowEvergreen State Builders

OMB 2012 Tour of Homes Award Winners, pictured from L – R. (Back Row) Ron Deering of Deering & Nelson, Inc.; Mark Barton of Dickey’s Remodel & Repair; Tessa Smith of The Artisans Group; Diane Gassman of Interior Dimensions, LLC (for Dickey’s Remodel & Repair and Olympia Construction, Inc.); Mark Kitabayashi of Windermere Real Estate (for SoundBuilt NW, LLC), Jeff Kelley of Evergeen State Builders; Nancey Kelley of Evergreen State Builders; Corey Peters of Evergreen State Builders; Chance Wehrer of Coldwell Banker (for Evergreen State Builders); Scott Bergford of Scott Homes, and Daimon Doyle of Scott Homes. (Front Row) Andy Gruhn of Northwest Family Homes, Inc.; Mike Auderer of Olympia Construction, Inc.; Kirby Kelley of Evergreen State Builders; and David Danton of Lexar Homes.

The Judges’ Choice Award Winners


The Spike Party Murder Mystery was held Friday, November 2. Everyone had a wonderful time.

Prince Prawn (Paul Muldoon of Edward Jones Investments) mur-dered Nad Hitt (Doug Karman of Frontstream Payments) and turned out to be Nindsey Noman’s (Janine Ezzell of Chicago Title) daddy.

Bob Kagy of ABC Printing did the Robot dance and Fed-X (Harv Lil-legard of Lillegard Construction) tap danced. The annual Spike party is held to recognize members who have recruited others to join Olympia Master Builders that year.

Spike Party: Who Done It?

Partnership

To get your quote today, call 1-800-545-7011 extension 6 or visit www.epkbenefits.com

We’ve partnered with Regence BlueShield and the BIAW for

20 years. These long-standing partnerships allow us to provide

companies withthe best benefits possible. We

can offer Medical,Voluntary Dental, Vision, Basic Life, and AD&D at prices youcan afford because of these

partnerships.

We are stronger together.

Companies typically see 8 – 18% savings on

health plans in our program. Not only do we provide you with

great savings, we focus on ser-vice to ensure the best bang for

your buck.

We strive to provide the best every day.

What’s in your benefit toolbox?Benefits

ServiceValueTrust

The BIAW Health Insurance Program has exclusive plan administrators at EPK &

Associates. The service provided through EPK and the customer service center at Regence

BlueShield adds to the program’s value.

The BIAW Health Insurance Program is a name built on trust. For over 20 years, we have

provided comprehensive health benefits to companies in the building and construction industry at a price they can afford. Today we

are 2,400 companies strong with 60,000 insured lives and still growing.

Put your trust in us. You’ll be glad you did.

Nov. / Dec. Class CalendarRegister today by calling the

BIAW 360-352-7800.Classes are held at the OMB office-

1211 State Avenue NE, Olympia 98506

Reading & Understanding Construction Drawings This class is designed for builders, sub-contractors, remodelers, building department workers and material suppliers, new employees or as a refresher course. Learn to read drawings and find information needed to provide a material take-off. Thursday, Nov. 29 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Cost: $145 members, $199 non-members.

Business Management for Building Profes-sionals This course will give you a solid founda-tion in those best business practices so valuable to smaller businesses: planning, organizing, staffing/directing and controlling. Designation credit: CAPS, CGA, CGB, CGR, CGP, Master CSP. Cont. edu credit: CAPS, CGA, CGB, CGR, GMB, CSP, Master SCP, CMP, MIRM. 6 AIA. Thursday, Dec. 6 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Cost: $225 members, $275 non-members.

From left: London Wilton (Kim Ruiz), Wack Pick-leson (James Peterson of Lanza Construction), Rico Fabio (Rusty Ruiz of Hung Right Doors), Nindsey Noman (Janine Ezzell of Chicago Title), Nad Hitt (Doug Karman of Frontstream Payments) and Zangelina Holie-Hitt (Judy Karman).

From left: Meece Witherfork and Uba Vermon AKA Karen McClennen of The Olympian and her sister Sharri reading their clues for the next round.

At left: Nindsey No-man and Rober t Frowney, Jr. AKA Janine Ezzel l of Chicago Title and her date Robert ar-riving.

From left: Beerstin Dunce and Wack Pick-leson AKA James and Gina Peterson of Lan-za Construction and Dom Bruise AKA Ross and Trivonna Irwin of Cabinets by Trivonna reading clues to start dropping hints about who done it.


OMB Member SpotlightThroughout 2012 each issue of Chalk Line will be featuring companies

who have been OMB members for over 20 years.

Associate Member

Bob KagyABC PRINTING, INC.

Member Since 1986

Associate Member

Linda Mosier-VaudtPRO-BUILD

Member Since 1980

ABC Printing, Inc. specializes in print and mail. We are a full ser-vice print company which provides both digital and offset print, bindery and mailing services. I started in the industry because I needed a job! I started by jogging newspapers off the back of presses. Starting in January 2013, I will be the Building Association of Washington’s Second Vice President.

Trivia Tidbits1. What has kept you an OMB member for so many years?Homebuilding is a market leader for a healthy economy. OMB is full of great people.

2. Who or what inspires you?Teddy Roosevelt

3. What is your best business practice?Listening to clients, then building a suite of products to accom-plish their marketing goals.

4. What one thing do you want other to know about your company?ABC utilizes cutting-edge variable-data printing, web and mobile marketing techniques to give clients true 1-to-1 personalized marketing to best capture their own customers.

7009 Martin WayLacey, WA 98509

360-456-4545 [email protected]

1830 Black Lake Blvd.Olympia, WA 98512

(360) [email protected]

www.probuild.com

As a child, I went to the lumber yard with my father and it only seemed natural to work there later. I joined the local trade organi-zation because one of my builder customers asked me to join.

Trivia Tidbits:1. What has kept you an OMB member for so many years?The good OMB does to keep housing affordable and under as little extraneous regulation as possible. Plus, it helps promote my business when I am active in the organization.

2. Who or what inspires you?Jon Conde, a past Vice President of ProBuild. He taught me to set people up to succeed.

3. What is your best business practice?We seek to provide materials in a highly ethical environment, and save our customers time and money.

4. What one thing do you want others to know about your company? ProBuild is the nation’s largest provider of building materials to the production builder, custom builder, remodeler, or do-it-yourselfer. We believe in the building industry!


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It’s the quality in craftsmanship that goes into every job we print.

7009 Martin WayPO Box 3309Lacey, WA 98509(360) 456-4545 www.abcprinting.net

OMB BIG Home & Garden Show

Saint Martin’s University Marcus Pavilion,

Lacey, WAApril 13 & 14

Lewis County Home & Remodel Show

Southwest Washington Fairgrounds, Chehalis, WA

April 20 & 21

Grays Harbor Home & Garden Show

Grays Harbor County Fairgrounds,

Elma, WAMay 18 & 19

Olympia Master Builders (OMB) is producing three home shows in 2013, and all before Memorial Day! Typically, the Chapter shows have been held in the spring, and the Olympia BIG Home & Garden Show in the fall. However, Saint Martin’s University offered OMB a spring show date, which vendors had been requesting for quite some time and the Home Show Committee accepted their offer!

As an incentive for vendors to par-ticipate in multiple shows, OMB will be offering discounts for vendors who register for two shows and ad-ditional discounts for vendors who register for all three shows. These discounts allow vendors to pick and choose booth size and location for any and all shows, as booth prices vary between shows and also booth location.

All 2012 show vendors will receive notification of first right of refusal by mail in early December. At this time, vendors may return their completed registrations to OMB, requesting their same booth space as last year. Beginning in early January, registra-tions will open for all shows, and all spaces.

The OMB BIG Home & Garden Show Committee is also exploring an idea of planning a VIP event the Friday night before the show. OMB staff will keep all vendors posted on this new and exciting aspect of the show!

For more details about any of these shows, or how to register to be a vendor, please feel free to call the OMB office at 360-754-0912.

OMB Producing Three Home Shows This Spring!Hold on to your Home Show Hat!


National and State Update

With data in from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), it is becom-ing clear that home building is a leading source of economic growth for 2012.

According to the BEA, Gross Do-mestic Product (GDP) increased at a 2% annualized rate during the third quarter. This was an improvement, albeit a small one, from the 1.3% rate of growth during the second quarter and matches the 2% rate for the start of 2012. GDP growth has only exceeded 2.6% for one quarter (the final quarter of 2011) since the start of 2010.

As the overall economy has slowed, housing has generated an outsized share of the expansion. Home build-ing and remodeling (residential fixed investment, or RFI) added 0.33 percentage points to the final tally of GDP growth, or 17% of the total. In the second quarter, RFI yielded 15% of net growth and 22% in the first

quarter of 2011.

These numbers are impressive con-sidering that RFI remains only 2.5% of GDP as of the third quarter and housing starts remain half the size of a normal, healthy market.

Of the three primary elements of the housing sector (new home construc-tion, remodeling and existing home sales), new home sales continue to experience the largest gains, increas-ing in September 5.7% to an annual rate of 389,000, the highest level since the home buyer tax credit ex-pired in early 2010. The three-month moving average of new home sales has increased steadily for more than a year as more housing markets begin to see rising home prices and improving consumer sentiment.

The supply of new homes for sale fell to a seven-year low of 4.5 months as the pace of sales picked up, but the inventory advanced by only 2,000.

Did the Supreme Court just shut the door on lawsuits to recover damages from permitting agen-cies?

We were reminded this week that policy is made in every branch of state government, including the courts. On October 30, the Wash-ington Supreme Court announced that it would not review the case of Pierce County property owner

From the

Wendy Birnbaum.

You might remember Ms. Birn-baum’s story from the September issue of Building Insight (page 12). Ms. Birnbaum sued the county for damages when it took more than five years to issue a deci-sion on a permit application that should have taken only 120 days to review.

From the Birnbaum Case Won’t Be Heard by WA State Supreme Court

How Times Have Changed

The number of completed homes for sale and ready for immediate move-in remains at a record low of 38,000 as builders remain cautious about building ahead of the market and as credit access remains tight.

With prices rising and new home construction increasing, housing is finally provided the boost to economic growth that the sector typically provided at the end of a recession. This did not occur at the end of the Great Recession due to historic price declines, excess

inventories and pent-up housing demand associated with a weak labor market.

Now that the virtuous circle of home building and economic growth is beginning to take hold, it is useful to keep in mind factors that could hold back the growth for housing. These negative factors include policy uncertainty (particularly relating to finance and taxes), lack of builder and land developer credit, and mortgage access for prospective home buyers.

In practice, the Supreme Court’s decision not to hear Ms. Birnbaum’s case leaves in place a Court of Ap-peals ruling which essentially bars permit applicants from suing for damages they incur as a result of permitting delays.

The decision to not take up the case was a unanimous decision of De-partment I of the Supreme Court, composed of Chief Justice Barbara

Madsen and Justices Charles John-son, Susan Owens, James Johnson, and Charles Wiggins.

Remember, we vote for Supreme Court Justices in Washington.

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New Home Sales in Recovery


LEW RENTS- Equipment -

* RENTALS * SALES * SERVICE *

Proud OMB AssociateMember Since 1988

“Helping to Support Our LocalCommunity Builders Since 1928”

OLYMPIA360-357-7731

2216 East 4th Avenue

WESTSIDE360-357-3314

405 McPhee Road SWwww.lewrents.com

By Regina AdamsMembership/Marketing Coordinator

Membership Report

Have you been to www.omb.org lately? Have you seen the updated searchable Member Directory? Go to http://www.omb.org/resources/membership-directory and search “Custom Builder” in the business activity field to see an example of the enhanced listings that are avail-able to all Olympia Master Builder (OMB) members.

OMB’s new Enhanced Listings are an excellent way to get your logo and contact information seen by more

Enhanced Listings Available on the OMB Website

people who are looking for what you offer. They also include a short description about your company (up to 240 characters). Enhanced listings can be started at any time. As an added bonus, if you purchase an Enhanced Listing, when consum-ers are searching for a company name by a particular letter, your listing is shown first there too!

Enhanced Listings start at $150 per quarter per category and there are discounts for committing for a year and for enhancing multiple listings. Call Regina at 360-754-0912 if you have any questions about Enhanced Listings or if you would like to get yours started.


OMB Hosts CAO SummitOlympia Master Builders (OMB) hosted a Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO) Summit in October to give OMB members and Thurston Coun-ty citizens an opportunity to edu-cate themselves on the regulatory changes made when the Thurston County Commissioners passed the re-written Critical Areas Ordinance earlier this year. Over 70 members and citizens attended the CAO Summit.

Heather Burgess and Mick Phillips of Phillips Wesch Burgess, PLLC gave an informative presentation outlin-ing many of the changes builders, remodelers, landscapers and prop-erty owners in Thurston County will need to be aware of before starting a project.

Just a few of the changes outlined in the presentation:

• The Thurston County FarmBureau filed a Petition for Review on September 9 to the Western

Washington Growth Management Hearings Board challenging the new CAO on, among other things, a violation of the public participation requirements. This appeal will not stop the implementation of the new CAO.

• There isanewpermitprocess,The Critical Areas Review Permit (CARP). A CARP may require special reports from qualified experts. The CARP review fee is $1,935.

• Therearevegetationrestrictionsin all Critical Areas and Buffers such as: you may not remove native veg-etation, noxious weeds and invasive plants may be removed by hand with a permit and new gardens for personal consumption require a CARP.

• ThenewCAOreduceswetlandsregulated from 25,000 square feet to 1,000 square feet.

If you would like more information,

the full 35 page presentation is available at http://www.omb.org/publications.

Thank you to Phillips Wesch Burgess, PLLC for the informative presenta-tion, Woodlawn Funeral Home for providing the space to hold the Summit and KGY Radio for helping

Heather Burgess of Phillips Wesch Burgess, PLLC speaks to the audience at the OMB CAO Summit.

get the word out to the public. This event would not have hap-pened with-out your sup-port.

NOW is a perfect time to recruit new members.They get FREE incentives worth over $1,400!

(Here’s a few: free 2” x 2” ad in The Olympian; free Rock Chip Repair from Clear View Auto & Window Glass; free Solar Site Survey from South Sound Solar;

free 1/2 hour consultation at J.A. Goldstein Law Office, PLLC; $250 KAYO The Sound Bucks for radio advertising; AND MORE!)

2012 FALL MEMBERSHIP DRIVE

You could earn a trip to Las Vegas!

Contact the OMB officefor more information - 360-754-0912.


Chapter Reports

Grays HarborIn November the Chapter met at the Mazatlan Restaurant and heard from Leonard Barns and Stan Pinnick of The Port of Grays Harbor. They also selected their 2013 Chapter officers.

The Grays Harbor Chapter will meet on December 6 at the Collin’s Inn in Ocean Shores at 6:00 p.m. for a Holiday Social. Watch the Chalk Talk for more information.

South PacificThe South Pacific Chapter will not meet until January 2013. Ray Bon-ney of Bonney’s B.J.& R. Const, Inc. will be the 2013 Chapter President.

Lewis CountyAt the November Lewis County Chapter meeting, Lewis County Commissioner Ron Averill and County Staff presented information regarding proposed impact fees in Lewis County. All Lewis County

Welcome New Members

Carter LoggingShirley CarterPO BOX 288Montesano, WA 98563P: (360) 249-2211F: (360) 249-2299E: [email protected]: Carmen Smith

Exodus Engineering, Inc.Luke Moerke6927 Munn Lake Dr SEOlympia, WA 98501P: (360) 918-1369E: [email protected]: Dan Miller

Jessica Jensen Law PSCarmen Rowe2604 12th Court SW, Suite BOlympia, WA 98502P: (360) 705-1335F: (360) 570-2038E: [email protected]: Scott Nolan

Keller Supply Co.Dennis Sirianni1210 Carpenter Road SELacey, WA 98503P: (360) 491-0550Sponsor: John McKinlay

Landscaping Services, Inc.Nick FediayP O Box 3336Lacey, WA 98509P: (360) 413-1699F: (360) 413-1699E: [email protected]: Greg Bailey

GreenHaven InteractiveDave Parkhurst24629 80th Ave EastGraham WA 98338P: 253-906-2705E: [email protected]: Scott Nolan

members are urged to attend the November 26 public hearing regarding impact fees which will be held at 10:00 a.m. in the Com-missions Hearing Room, 2nd floor Historical Courthouse in Chehalis.

Mason CountyThe Mason County Chapter No-vember 13 meeting was a tour of the new PUD 3 facility. Afterwards Chapter members elected their 2013 officers. Aaron Nester of Reli-

Thank You to these renewing members

September / October 2012

35+ YearsB & R Flooring America

30+ YearsKell-Chuck Glass

25+ YearsAdair Homes, Inc.

20+ YearsAdroit Contractors, Inc.Christopherson Wood FloorsDoors Unlimited, Inc.Kaufman Construction & Development, Inc.

15-19 YearsHolroyd Company, Inc.Hudson’s Drywall, Inc.Skillings - Connolly, Inc.Blakely & Hout, Inc.Floor Technology, Inc.Kinney’s, Inc.Ford Electric Company, Inc.Lindstrom & Son Construction

10-14 YearsAro GlassLacey Door & MillworkAndrew Spear ConstructionNorm’s Construction, Inc.Dan Sallee Construction, LLCHarrington Construction

& Dev., Inc.Weatherguard Roofing, Inc.Allied Building ProductsDennis CompanyDr. Roof, Inc.Coastal Construction GroupP & P InvestmentsPremier Media GroupR.G. Forestry ConsultantsSierra Pacific Windows

5-9 YearsNorth Pacific Electric, Inc.Ron’s Stump Removal & Tree Service, LLCSouth Sound BankCarlson Electric LLCExpress Employment ProfessionalsGoebel Septic Tank Service, Inc.Heritage Restoration, Inc.Olympia Supply Co.Advance Environmental, Inc.Allied Electric Service, Inc.Capital City Stove & GrillLabor Works, Inc.Tyler Rental, Inc.J T S General Contractor, LLCOwens Davies Fristoe, Taylor & Schultz, P.S.Bayshore ConstructionCalifornia ClosetsDave Rockwell Construction

Frontstream PaymentsJNA Networking ServicesLanza Construction, LLC

2-4 YearsA-1 Roofing, Inc.Barckley Construction & ElectricBar-None, Inc.Capital Electric, Inc.Granite Gallery, LLCKC Maintenance ServicesLenkerbrook ServicesRodda & Sons West, LLCAlways Safe & Lock, Inc.Bliss & Skeen CPA’sHeritage Woodworks & RemodelLossing ConstructionT & S Cleaning, IncThurston County Chamber of CommerceWindermere Real Estate /Puyallup, Inc.

1 YearAwards West Printwares, Inc.David Evans & AssociatesEnvirotech Contractor ServicesEvergreen State BuildersGreenview Training SolutionsRSVP Olympia

ant Builders, LLC will be the 2013 Chapter President.

The Chapter will be holding a Christmas Party at Tupper’s Floor Covering & Interior, Inc. on Tuesday, December 11 at 5:00 p.m. The Tup-per’s encourage you to bring food for a baby food drive.


Chalk Line is the official publication of the Olympia Master Builders, an affiliate of the Building Industry Association of Washington and the National Association of Home Builders. The Olympia Master Build-ers can be contacted at 1211 State Avenue NE, Olympia, WA 98506-4234. Telephone 360-754-0912 or 800-456-6473. Fax 360-754-7448. Visit our web page at www.omb.org.

OFFICERS AND DIRECTORSOF THE ASSOCIATION

Executive CommitteePresident .............................James PetersonFirst Vice Pres. .................. John McKinlayTreasurer ................................. Scott NolanAssoc. Vice Pres. ............ Blake Knoblauch Second Assoc. VP. .....................Ross IrwinSecretary ................................... Tina AllenImmed. Past Pres. ..................Janine EzzellBuilder at Large .....................Ron DeeringBldrs. Council Chair ......... John McKinlay

Builder DirectorsMike Auderer Scott Bergford Andy Gruhn John Kaufman Harv Lillegard Walt Robertson

Associate DirectorsKim Asay Rich JamesRusty Ruiz Holly Constantine

Legal CounselJay Goldstein

National DirectorsDaimon Doyle Linda Mosier-Vaudt James Peterson

State DirectorsTina Allen Tim DickeyRon Deering Janine Ezzell Harv Lillegard Blake Knoblauch Don Koidahl Karen McClennen John McKinlay Paul Muldoon Aaron Nester Scott Nolan James Peterson Carmen Rowe Jim Simmons Lori Wirkkala

Life DirectorsJack Anderson Rick BorovecDebbi Boyd Clark Burkheimer William Childress Patrick Connor Michael Cornforth Merrilee DeForest Daimon Doyle Stuart Drebick Peter Fluetsch Bob Kagy Don Koidahl Bob LoveMason Manning Karen McClennen Linda Mosier-Vaudt Al Mullins Brian Panush Bill Peters Tommy Poplin Rob Rice Mark Shaffer Greg Stevens Andrew Spear Brad Wilson

Life MembersGeorge King Mary Gordon, Honorary

Douglas DeForest, Honorary

Lewis County Master Builders President...................................Scott NolanFirst Vice Pres. ..................... Jason ReimerAssoc. Vice Pres. ......................Rich JamesSecretary ..............................Rick BorovecImmed. Past Pres. .................... Scott NolanBuilder Directors ................... Don Koidahl Dave Danton, Dustin WestfallAssociate Directors .................Emma Ball,

Becky Rieger, A.J. Treleven

Mason County Master Builders President ................................Aaron NesterFirst Vice Pres. ..................... Rob McGuireAssoc. Vice Pres. ..................Todd McPheeSecretary .................................... Bob LoveImmed. Past Pres. .................Rob McGuire

South Pacific County Master Builders

President ...............................Lori WirkkalaFirst Vice Pres. ........................ Ray BonnieImmed. Past Pres. .................... Glen Trusty

Twin Harbors Master Builders President ............................. Harv LillegardFirst Vice Pres. ................................... TBDAssoc. Vice Pres ....................... Rusty RuizSecretary ...................................Bob SmithImmed. Past Pres. ...................... Mike Foss

Association StaffExecutive Officer .....................Laura WorfDir. Member Services .....Stacey GenzlingerGovt. Affairs Director ...............Angela WhiteBookkeeper ...........................Sally DarrowMbr. Services Coordinator ..Regina Adams

The Olympia Master Builders (OMB) and the Home Builders Association of Austin Texas are the only two lo-cal home builder associations in the United States affected by this agree-ment because the species affected by this settlement agreement are only found in those two local asso-ciations’ geographical areas.

“In September, OMB’s Board of Di-rectors voted to have OMB listed as an “interested party” in this lawsuit because of the far reaching effect this settlement agreement can have on OMB members in Thurston Coun-ty. Specifically, OMB is concerned the USFWS will list the Mazama Pocket Gopher as an endangered species and the result could be devastating for property owners in Thurston County,” commented OMB President, James Peterson. He added, “Some experts predict if the Mazama Pocket Gopher is listed as an endangered species, no one in Thurston County will be able to get a grading permit.”

While NAHB is pursuing a lawsuit

with USFWS, OMB has been part of a community coalition that has been working on the local level to provide information to the USFWS regarding the Mazama Pocket Gopher. This coalition has successfully convinced the Washington State Fish & Wildlife Services that a new inventory of the Mazama Pocket Gopher should be completed and the results for-warded to the USFWS.

USFWS was required to make a deci-sion by September 29th regarding the Mazama Pocket Gopher per the settlement agreement with the two environmental advocacy organizations. In a big win for the local community coalition groups’ efforts; the USFWS filed a motion in U.S. Federal Court to defer a deci-sion on the listing of the Mazama Pocket Gopher until November 29, 2012. An even bigger win would be if the NAHB lawsuit is successful and USFWS is required to give the list-ing of the Mazama Pocket Gopher and the other 250 species the full due process required by law before making a listing decision.

“Gopher” Continued from page 1

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ProBuild1830 Black Lake Blvd. SWOlympia, WA 98501Hours: M–F: 7am–5pm(360) 754-0300

ProBuild114 E Cedar St.Shelton, WA 98584Hours: M–F: 7am–6pm, Sa: 8–6, Su: 9–5(360) 426-2611

ProBuildN150 Lake Cushman Rd.Hoodsport, WA 98548Hours: M–Sa: 8am–5pm(360) 877-6881

AT PROBUILD, our dedicated team of professionals offer superior customer service at every level of home construction. Rely on our qualified staff and our full service facilities to bring your project to life.

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