MARS — Mars Mayor Gregg Hartung knows he has the support of the community in pursuing funds to build a Mars Discovery Center in the borough.

Now, he wants elected officials at the state level to know as well.

The borough has applied for a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant to seek funds to build the center. It would focus on science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) education and give children and their families a way to explore science and space travel.

According to RACP guidelines, the project grant request must be for at least $1 million. Hartung said the borough is asking for $2 million.

As the amount of money available for RACP projects is being discussed in Harrisburg, Hartung is asking the community to reach out to Gov. Tom Wolf, state Sen. Scott Hutchinson and state Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, asking them to support the project. Calls or emails from them offering that backing could go a long way in helping the project’s progress, he said.

“We’ve been told it’s helpful if it sounds like the community is backing it,” he said.

Hartung said this week, he has heard from representatives from Hutchinson and Metcalfe’s offices, who said they have been caught a bit off-guard by the flood of correspondence. However, they’ve been receptive, he said.

“The idea is that it’s not just the mayor’s project ... but actually we have a broad-based interest in this being a part of our community,” he said.

Other RACP grant requirements dictate a project must generate “substantial increases in employment, tax revenues or other measure of economic activity.” It also requires matching funds, for which Hartung said the borough would use the property value for the desired location as leverage.

Further strengthening the application is an official “letter of collaboration” from NASA, which states the federal space agency would provide content for the center.

Hartung said because NASA is a government agency it is not able to put funding toward the project, but it can help with programming and design. Under the plan, Mars would own the building and a third party would operate the center.

A decision on the funding is not expected until December.

Hartung said the RACP funding would not cover the cost of initial engineering studies. In an effort to secure funds for that portion of the project, he will make a presentation Friday to the Appalachian Regional Commission in Pittsburgh. Further, long-term funding would be generated from private donors, he said.