Administrators of Slippery Rock will get a little help this year while updating the borough’s comprehensive plan.

Slippery Rock is getting a $15,000 grant from the Department of Community and Economic Development’s Municipal Assistance Program, which helps fund planning for zoning projects and updating of comprehensive plans.

Slippery Rock Mayor Jondavid Longo said the borough will use the money to hire a consultant that will help with the plan.

“You typically want to do this every 10 years, and we are coming up on that in Slippery Rock,” Longo said. “Ideally, we’d like to have it done in first quarter of next year.”

According to the news release, the plan will encompass an analysis, accompanied by suggestions related to natural resources, agricultural land, historic buildings, commercial and economic base, public facilities, and the quality of the housing stock, while also harnessing the benefits provided by Slippery Rock University to the borough.

Longo said the comprehensive plan will act as a road map for development in the coming years in Slippery Rock.

“What it does is it uses input from the planning commission and community through polls as to how we can set in motion our vision for our municipality,” he said. “This is going to be used to give us a blueprint, if you will, whenever we are discussing things like zoning or land use, things like business incentives.”

In addition to providing a road map for borough administrators, Longo said this comprehensive plan will also address neighboring municipalities and how Slippery Rock can work in tandem with them.

The borough has three years to spend the money, as per the terms of the grant, but Longo said the process will likely move along at a brisk pace.

“We’ve been awarded the grant, now what will happen is we will confer and decide on consulting firm that will help us,” Longo said.