MARS — Borough council voted during their meeting on Monday night, June 2, to apply for a $50,000 Local Use Fund grant which it is hoping to use on paving projects.

According to Council Member John McWilliams, the grant amount — if awarded — could cover out-of-pocket costs for paving borough roads, including Spring Street, which he mentioned as one of its priority paving projects.

“It would cover the cost of the drain boxes and it would cover the cost of the survey,” McWilliams said during the meeting. “We’re coming out of pocket on all of that. So (the grant) would cover all of that.”

However, McWilliams said even if their grant application is successful, they may not be awarded the full amount they are asking for.

“We don’t know how much it’ll be for,” McWilliams said. “It depends on what Butler County decides they want to award us. It depends on how many municipalities are applying for the money, because it’s an infrastructure-type grant.”

Butler County’s Local Use Fund grant is funded by the $5 fee residents pay each time they have their Pennsylvania vehicle registrations renewed. The grant is exclusively awarded for use on transportation infrastructure projects within Butler County.

McWilliams said this is the first time Mars is applying for a grant through Butler County’s Local Use Fund program.