It was a packed room Wednesday in the Shenendoah Club House at Turning Stone Resort Casino. The Oneida Indian Nation hosted Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente, who presented his State of the County address.

The county executive covered a lot of ground.

In his speech, Picente emphasized the need to attract workers. He has several ideas toward that end, including starting a program to train 200 new health care workers and 100 tractor-trailer drivers.

Picente also wants to utilize partnerships, including creating a dental hygiene training program with Mohawk Valley Community College and partnering with private sector and nonprofits to help ease the burden of student loans.

Through the Student Loan Benefit Program, he said federal recovery funds will help local employers provide student loan relief for prospective workers.

"Together, working with different partners and creating a fund to help draw down those loans, more people will come home, more people will work in an area where their money is going to go a lot further, and not all of it is going to go to paying those loans," Picente said.

Picente said there are challenges to attracting and retaining a highly educated workforce. He said having SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Oneida County is essential to meeting the issue, and pushed back on Gov. Kathy Hochul's proposal to move it out of the county.

"I really can't stress and cannot tell you all how critical this situation is in this community," he said. "This is crucial to the growth of this region. We need everyone, and I mean everyone. Please get engaged in this effort. This is a key to our future, and we need to keep what we have."

Picente also highlighted projects in the works.

He said the county is committed to providing $2 million toward a new YMCA in Rome, and amenities and safety measures in the "U District."

"We have to look at areas around Nexus to boost up growth for the activity for the thousands of people that are going to come and visit that site on a weekly basis starting in November," he said.

The Oneida County executive also said the county is working to make child care more affordable and accessible. He wants to create a Child Care Task Force to help in their efforts.

As a supporter of consolidating services, the county executive added that he wants to "try something" with area municipalities.

"My proposition here is eliminate a function, consolidate a function. We'll pay that municipality twice what that's worth. One-shot deal. Then go develop, do something with it, reduce taxes, do what you need to," he said.

Some of his proposals will need approval from the county Legislature.