Picente Delivers State Of County Address

Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente delivered his State of the County Address at the Radisson Hotel in Utica today.

Picente says the county is on much stronger financial footing than it was when he took office 8 years ago.

He talked about many of the area's recent successes, including Nano Utca, the drone testing site at Griffiss International Airport and the Utica Comets.

In his speech, Picente proposed the creation of 300 housing units in the metro areas of Utica and Rome over the next five years.

He says the multifaceted approach is called the Nu Downtown Living Initiative.

It would include incentive packages for development.

Picente proposed a merger between Mohawk Valley Community College and Herkimer College.

And he unveiled the Oneida County Total Health Initiative, which will be chaired by Olympic Bronze medalist Erin Hamlin of Remsen.