The Home Builders Association of Southeastern Michigan recently selected Sterling Heights Building Official Michael Viazanko as the 2020 recipient of their Distinguished Service in Government Award.
The announcement was made by Michael Stoskopf, CEO for the association.
In March and April 2020, the home building industry was shut down due to the state’s Stay Home, Stay Safe orders. During this time, Viazanko became aware of a new home that was ready to close but was delayed when the final inspection could not be conducted due to the state’s orders. In a joint effort with the HBA of Southeastern Michigan, Viazanko executed a thorough and calculated approach to safely and responsibly conduct the inspection necessary to issue a temporary certificate of occupancy, as warranted.
“This has been a difficult year for many businesses, and construction is no exception,” said Stoskopf. “Mr. Viazanko’s actions resulted in allowing final inspections on ‘ready to close’ homes and certificates of occupancy to be issued, not only in Sterling Heights, but across the entire region. His leadership and example helped guide building departments statewide, even while new construction remained on hold. This was a great benefit to builders who were trying to save their businesses as well as families who were ready to move into their new homes. This award is testament to Mr. Viazanko’s dedication to providing exceptional service to our community and, in this case, Southeast Michigan as well.”
“Pride in our City team goes beyond measure, and Mike is so deserving of this award,” said Sterling Heights City Manager Mark Vanderpool. “We’ve known for a long time that Mike embodies our City’s culture of continuous improvement, innovation and outside-of-the-box thinking. It’s no surprise that, when faced with a roadblock, Mike got to work on figuring out a solution that would meet the needs of the construction industry and our local families while still maintaining public safety. That being said, it’s fantastic to see his hard work and dedication recognized by others, and we thank the HBA of Southeastern Michigan for shining a light on Mike’s results-based leadership.”
HBA award honorees are selected annually by a committee of HBA leaders based on nominations from the membership and the committee. This year’s annual awards celebration will be held the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 9 in a way that is compliant with current public health and safety guidelines.
Viazanko began his career with the City of Sterling Heights in 1998 as a building inspector and worked his way to being promoted to building official in March 2011. In this position, he is responsible for overseeing all construction within the City, ensuring compliance with all public health and safety codes and ordinances as well as working with developers and contractors to help keep their projects on track.
Viazanko has been a member of the HBA of Southeastern Michigan since 2016. He is also a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Code Committee, is active with International Code Council (ICC) National Certifications and currently holds a position as program director for Oakland County Building Officials.