MARS — Borough Council voted 4-1 in favor of three amendments to the borough’s merger with Adams Township during its meeting Monday, July 20.

Council Member William Lambert voted in dissent, and council member Jim Garrity was absent.

The amendments include three items required by the Butler County Bureau of Elections, borough solicitor Chris Reese said.

The first item was that in the 2027 election cycle, Mars voters will join Adams Township voters in voting for one open position on the new municipality’s governing board.

Reese said this component is not new, and has been discussed at public meetings, but the amendment will make it official.

The second and third items state that once the merger is enacted, the elected offices of Mars — mayor, borough council members, tax collectors, constable — will be eliminated.

Adams Township approved the merger in June, and Mars followed during its July 6 public hearing.

The approvals will allow the township and borough to jointly place the merger of Adams Township and Mars on the ballot for the November general election.

If approved by voters, the two municipalities will merge into a single, second-class township called Mars Township on Jan. 1, 2028.

Before the vote, one resident, Frank Haustovich, raised concern about the implications of the merger for residents of Mars.

Haustovich said he fears with the Mars council ceasing to exist, residents of Mars will not be appropriately represented under the governance of Adams Township, and that the residents of the borough as it stands will be “dominated” by the township.

He added that the chances of a Mars resident being elected to the board of supervisors, in his perspective, was unlikely.

“Well, but none of us have a crystal ball,” council President Michael Fleming responded.

John McWilliams, council vice president, noted the three-person advisory board from the borough will assist the township board if the merger is successful and that, technically, all five board members could be from Mars.

Haustovich proposed that if voters approve the merger and there is a Mars Township, the board split where its meetings are held between Mars and Adams Township.

“I firmly believe that out of sight is out of mind,” Haustovich said. He added that if half of the meetings took place in present-day Mars area, the board would be better able to identify and solve issues in the area.

“Forget about that domination,” Haustovich said. “Now we’re talking 50/50.”

Several council members voiced support to that proposal.

Haustovich particularly noted the decaying quality of curbs, to which Fleming said that part of the merger’s importance is that the township wants to improve infrastructure, too.

“I don’t want to put words in (Adams Township officials) mouth, but I don’t I don't think there’s any question in our mind that they also see the deficiencies within the borough,” Fleming said.

If the merger played out, Haustovich asked the borough council if they thought the benefits listed — “streamlined governance, reduced duplication, better service delivery” — would really play out, as well.

“I think the purpose of the merger is not to establish any type of positioning or power authority, but is about the most cost-effective way to deliver combined services in all areas to the residents of Mars and Adams,” Fleming said.