Ferguson Township appoints new manager after five-month search. What to know
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- Ferguson Township selected Warren Obenski as manager after a five-month search.
- Obenski was chosen from 42 candidates across 18 states and will earn $155,000 annually.
- Obenski will begin duties on May 26, Thomas King to stay interim manager until May 25.
Following a five-month search for a new manager, Ferguson Township has found its next top administrator.
Warren Obenski was announced as the township’s next manager at the supervisors meeting Tuesday. The board contracted with MGT Impact Solutions, LLC, and Obenski was chosen from 42 different candidates from 18 different states, according to a Wednesday press release.
He’ll receive an annual salary of $155,000, Obenski told the Centre Daily Times on Tuesday.
Obenski joins the township from Honey Brook Township in Chester County, where he’s worked as manager since 2021. Prior to that, he served as a police officer at the Uwchlan Township Police Department in Chester County from 1995-2021, and had held leadership roles in the luxury watch industry, including service as the North America Manager for Ball Watch Switzerland.
Obenski is also an active member of several professional organizations including the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors, Association for Pennsylvania Municipal Managers and more, according to the press release. He has also volunteered as a firefighter and EMT and has served as a Gracie Survival Tactics instructor, high school mountain bike coach and first aid and CPR instructor.
“I’m really looking forward to moving here,” said Obenski, who’s lived in Happy Valley twice before — once in 1995 to get his bachelor’s degree in administration of justice from Penn State, and again in 2017, when he returned to Penn State to get his master’s degree in public administration.
“I’m looking forward to working with the staff and the board, and most importantly interacting with the community. ... I would ask that any resident come bother me whenever you want, I’m happy to talk — as a police officer I can definitely sit down and listen for a long, long time.”
Obenski’s hiring comes just over five months after former manager Centrice Martin’s resignation in early December. In her stead, Thomas King, who was a former State College police officer and chief, was tapped to serve as the township’s interim manager.
From early December to early January, King was also served as the township’s interim police chief. Matt Wilson was chosen as the township’s permanent police chief in November, and was sworn in on Jan. 5.
King will remain as interim manager until May 25, with Obenski starting on May 26.
“ I would like to extend the board’s commendation to our interim manager, Tom King, whose steady leadership and dedicated service throughout this transition period has ensured the continued effectiveness of administration and township affairs — we offer our sincere gratitude for your commitment and professionalism,” Supervisor Jeremie Thompson said Tuesday.
He continued, “I want to extend my congratulations to Mr. Obenski upon your appointment, and express our confidence in your leadership abilities that you’ll bring to this office.”