In the News

SPRINGFIELD — The Pioneer Valley Planning Commission has received $400,000 from federal coronavirus response legislation passed earlier this year that could help it lay groundwork for even more federal funding in the future.

The money comes through the CARES Act and the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration.

“This is significant in the sense that it will allow us to look at some of the more economically depressed areas, and analyze where they find themselves, and what instructions we might take from that in terms of additional dollars that might flow from the HEROES Act and from the infrastructure act that is currently before the U.S. House of Representatives,” U.S. Rep. Richard Neal said in a Thursday news conference at the Springfield federal courthouse, where he has an office.

Kimberly H. Robinson, executive director of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, said the commission is the planning agency for 43 cities and towns in Hampden and Hampshire counties. Part of that responsibility includes revising the “Plan for Progress,” a regional economic development strategy.

“Our Valley’s economy has suffered great injury over the past several months,” Robinson said. ”Just as we would treat any injury, this funding will allow us to both address our immediate needs by assessing the damage done and advancing projects that will put our residents back to work in the short-term, while also seeking to understand how we can build a more resilient economy that can withstand the uncertainties of tomorrow in the long run.”