Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Jeff Noffsinger wanted to work in the field of urban planning, eventually leading a municipal planning department - he just didn't plan on it happening so soon.
"After graduating from high school ( in Union City), I wanted to be an architect. But after one year at Ball State, I decided I would rather be in urban planning," Noffsinger said Wednesday. "I found that I was more interested in the total community rather than one project at a time."
Noffsinger graduated from Ball State in 1996 with a degree in urban planning and took a job with MSE Engineering in Indianapolis as a digital mapper. Shortly thereafter, the position of assistant planner here opened and he immediately applied.
"Coming here was a real blessing for me. I was working as a 'digi-slave' at MSE and didn't really like the job. This was something that I've always wanted to do," Noffsinger said.
He is now putting that desire to the test, serving as interim head of the Warsaw Planning and Building Department, after the departure of Pat Hudson, who left in June to take over the planning department in Champaign-Urbana, Ill.
"It was a real surprise to get this job. I have always known that the opportunity (to be department head) would be here sooner or later. I just wasn't aware that it would be as soon as it was," Noffsinger said. "Pat was a real mentor to me and I was sorry to see him go."
He described what he really enjoys about working in the department where growth and exciting changes are a daily occurrences.
"Every day is really different. We're a customer service organization, so it really depends on who comes in and what they want us to do. But it's always something new," he said. "I'm really excited with the opportunity and challenges this office offers."
Noffsinger said some of the goals he'd like to see accomplished under his tutelage include establishing an industrial corridor along U.S. 30, northwest of Warsaw; developing a network of biking/hiking trails through town; addressing the diverse cultural makeup of Warsaw in providing the services of the department; and gearing up the department for the 2000 census.
