Civil Municipal View Feb2023

92 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 2 In addition, the school runs two programs offering students practical experience: an unpaid internship, where kids are placed with a business or organization to learn the tools and crafts of that particular trade, and a paid cooperative arrangement between the school and local employers where students receive extensive vocational instruction on-the-job. Complimenting those cooperative partnerships is the Massasoit Community College, with campuses in both Canton and Brockton.“One of the programs they offer is Diesel Technology, training technicians to maintain, repair, and overhaul diesel engines and support systems,” Staiti explains.“It’s a perfect match for our students at the Aggie school who may want to pursue a career in the diesel field. There’s a definite need for Diesel Technology Specialists to enter the workforce. That’s just one of several direct examples of a Norfolk County facility stepping in to improve workforce planning.” Like many communities across the country, Norfolk was the beneficiary of a large federal grant from the U.S. Treasury last year, as provided in the American Rescue Plan Act (APRA). The county was awarded $137M, to be distributed and managed to replace lost public revenue from the economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. “We built a software model for each community to send their applications in,” highlights Cronin.“As you may know from announcements, applications could fall under one of six categories: economic impact, public health, water and sewer, broadband infrastructure, revenue loss, and premium pay for essential workers. By far, the most common application we’ve received is in water and sewer infrastructure. So, Norfolk County and our Commissioners, including Commissioner Staiti and Chairman Shea and Commissioner Peter Collins, have already signed off on $45M, which has gone to aid approximately 20 communities.” “These funds have been used in a variety of ways, as reimbursement as well as funding for new projects, to help local industry and our local economies bridge the process between their last economic activity during the pandemic, and getting them where they need to be to be successful going forward.” To date, Norfolk has doled out more money for economic relief than any other county in the Commonwealth. “That means that the towns in our county are benefiting,”Staiti insists.“We’re giving money to Stoughton to build a new public safety