Mars, Adams Township contemplate merger
ADAMS TWP — The boards of both Mars Borough and Adams Township publicly announced on Monday, Jan. 5, they had recently entered into preliminary talks about a potential merger of the municipalities.
At their reorganization meetings on Monday night, each municipality also announced they would hold a joint public meeting on the issue in the near future. The public meeting is tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 22, at Twelve Oaks Mansion on Scharberry Lane in Adams Township. Both the date and location are subject to change.
Representatives from each municipality said a merger would be mutually beneficial for residents.
According to Adams Township Supervisor Russell Ford, conversations about a potential merger only began within the last two months, as both sides were discussing their ongoing collaboration on the planned replacement for the Mars Area Public Library, a project which has run into difficulties in recent months.
“I came to (Mars Borough Councilman) Mike (Fleming) a couple of months ago and went, ‘Well, if we can't make it work, let's join forces and then we can definitely make it work,’” Ford said. “That's where the conversations really began. I came back to my supervisors and laid it out. We were unanimous on this being a good idea to pursue and Mike did the same with his group.”
Geographically, Mars is surrounded on all sides by Adams Township. In addition, the two municipalities share many of the same resources, including the Adams Area Fire District, Mars Area Public Library, Breakneck Creek Regional Authority, and Mars Area School District.
“There’s a long-standing working relationship that already exists between the borough and the township,” Fleming said. “We try to build on that, and it’s complicated at times because it's two separate entities. Adams has expressed a willingness to consider the potential for a greater working environment between us.”
Both Ford and Fleming believe a merger with Adams Township, if approved, would bring major dividends to Mars Borough citizens, including its downtown small business owners.
“I think it could take the borough to a generational stability,” Fleming said. “We're going to be able to inch along a little bit faster than we have and bring our downtown area up to par a little bit better and represent the events in the community a little bit better than we've been able to do.”
When asked about how small business owners in Mars would react to a possible merger, Ford said, “I would hope that they applaud to this. They would have the opportunity to flourish and grow their businesses.”
Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Economic Development has also been involved in the discussions.
“We have met with the DCED and we've talked about our plan,” Ford said. “They applauded. They love the plan. They think it's a great idea. They've laid out the steps in the process and the cost to do the merger and there is grant money available.”
According to Ford, the ultimate decision on whether or not any merger between the two municipalities goes ahead would lay in the hands of the residents.
Both Ford and Fleming expect the question to go before voters of both municipalities in the November election.
“It doesn't matter what my group wants to do, or what his group wants to do,” Ford said. “Ultimately, this will be a vote in both Mars and in Adams Township and we’ll have to pass both. If one says ‘no,’ it's off the table.”
While both sides stress talks are preliminary, they have given some thought to what the identity of a potentially merged Mars/Adams Township would be if the merger were to go through. Ford stated that any new name would reflect the identity of both places.
“We realize we cannot eliminate the name of Mars in the new name and we can't eliminate the name of Adams,” Ford said. “It’s premature to say at this point, but we can say that both will be in the name.”
