Today marks the 100th day of Executive Ryan Mello’s service in his new role at Pierce County. Prior to his election last November, Mello served as Chair of the Pierce County Council.
“Our Forward Together agenda is all about building communities that are safe, welcoming and connected,” Mello said. “With the uncertainty of everything happening at the federal and state level, I’m proud of all we’re doing in partnership with our local community leaders to create affordable housing, improve safety on our streets, expand behavioral health access, support our young people to thrive, and more. These early wins give me hope for what we can accomplish together in the months and years to come.”
Highlights of the first 100 days include:
- Building affordable housing at an unprecedented pace, thanks in large part to funding from the Maureen Howard Affordable Housing Act. Since the Act was passed in mid-2023, it has already supported the creation of nearly 750 housing units. Most recently 56 units of affordable housing was preserved through the Hidden Firs project in Parkland/Spanaway, and a groundbreaking was held for the Aviva Crossing project in Tacoma that will create 129 homes.
- Celebrating that Tacoma-Pierce County will be one of nine FIFA World Cup 2026 fan zones in Washington state. This is an exciting once-in-a-lifetime economic and cultural opportunity to showcase the South Sound to hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world.
- Collaborating across departments and with community partners to stand up the Parkland Warming Center that kept hundreds of unhoused people warm and safe during the unusually long cold snap in January.
- Demonstrating our values as a welcoming county by issuing a directive that clarifies our limited role in enforcing federal immigration laws.
- Held the kick-off to start the 100-Day Challenge, a national initiative inspiring bold and creative community action to end youth and young adult homelessness. Pierce County is serving as a pilot community to integrate both our Youth Homeless Demonstration Program and 100-Day Challenge to End Youth Homelessness initiatives simultaneously.
Other key initiatives that are underway include
- Implementing a comprehensive plan to strengthen the County’s housing, jobs and sustainability efforts.
- Putting opioid settlement dollars to work to provide more access to detox and treatment services.
- Preparing to launch an exciting Vision Zero plan that will make our streets safer and more accessible.
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