New County Assistant Planner Learning On The Job
October 3, 2023 at 6:46 p.m.
By the time his one-year work anniversary comes around as the Kosciusko County assistant planner, Andy Heltzel wants to feel comfortable enough with the county ordinances that he can give the public good advice on how to follow them.
Having just started in the position in July, the 22-year-old from Akron is still learning on the job.
Heltzel graduated from Tippecanoe Valley High School in 2019. He then went to school at IUPUI in Indianapolis where he studied geography. He did his last year of school at California State University, Northridge, in Los Angeles.
“This is my first job out of college,” he said. “I wanted to be close to home and close to my family. Be able to help out my parents, and my sister works for the county, too, for Soil & Water. She just moved to Warsaw.”
Heltzel plans to eventually move to Warsaw.
As the assistant county planner, he said his duties include helping out in the office with permits, taking over the flood plain permit duties from Plan Director Matt Sandy, attending all the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) meetings, running the Syracuse BZA meeting monthly, attending all the Plan Commission meetings and he’s working on an ordinance for shipping containers that the Plan Commission will decide on.
“I would say it’s about what I expected it to be,” Heltzel said of his job. “It’s definitely challenging because I’m trying to become as familiar as I can with the ordinances and it’s just one of those things that takes time. It’s helpful having everyone in here that has a lot more experience than I do. They’ve been very helpful.”
He said his short-term goal was to be comfortable enough with the ordinances in a year to be able to guide the public on how best to follow the ordinances.
In his spare time, Heltzel rides and works on bicycles a lot. “That’s my main hobby. I used to run a bike shop out of my apartment when I lived in Indianapolis, and that’s what I spend a lot of my time doing,” he said.
When he moves to Warsaw, he plans to get involved more in the community, including possibly the cycling club.
By the time his one-year work anniversary comes around as the Kosciusko County assistant planner, Andy Heltzel wants to feel comfortable enough with the county ordinances that he can give the public good advice on how to follow them.
Having just started in the position in July, the 22-year-old from Akron is still learning on the job.
Heltzel graduated from Tippecanoe Valley High School in 2019. He then went to school at IUPUI in Indianapolis where he studied geography. He did his last year of school at California State University, Northridge, in Los Angeles.
“This is my first job out of college,” he said. “I wanted to be close to home and close to my family. Be able to help out my parents, and my sister works for the county, too, for Soil & Water. She just moved to Warsaw.”
Heltzel plans to eventually move to Warsaw.
As the assistant county planner, he said his duties include helping out in the office with permits, taking over the flood plain permit duties from Plan Director Matt Sandy, attending all the Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) meetings, running the Syracuse BZA meeting monthly, attending all the Plan Commission meetings and he’s working on an ordinance for shipping containers that the Plan Commission will decide on.
“I would say it’s about what I expected it to be,” Heltzel said of his job. “It’s definitely challenging because I’m trying to become as familiar as I can with the ordinances and it’s just one of those things that takes time. It’s helpful having everyone in here that has a lot more experience than I do. They’ve been very helpful.”
He said his short-term goal was to be comfortable enough with the ordinances in a year to be able to guide the public on how best to follow the ordinances.
In his spare time, Heltzel rides and works on bicycles a lot. “That’s my main hobby. I used to run a bike shop out of my apartment when I lived in Indianapolis, and that’s what I spend a lot of my time doing,” he said.
When he moves to Warsaw, he plans to get involved more in the community, including possibly the cycling club.