Mars passes event policy
MARS — Mars Borough Council put an end to a process that stretched on for months by approving a comprehensive event policy during their meeting on Monday, Dec. 15.
The final version of the policy softened one of its more controversial aspects among borough business owners: a requirement for every major borough event to be helmed by a nonprofit organization to shield the borough from liability.
At the suggestion of Councilman Alan Boburczak, the list of those who could host an event in Mars was extended to “Mars Borough property owners, Mars Borough residents, Mars Borough businesses, the Mars Area School District and local nonprofit organizations.”
“It went back and forth, but they settled on those five,” borough secretary Bonnie Forsythe said.
According to Boburczak, the change came as a result of comments received from small business owners since the previous council meeting on Monday, Dec. 1.
“Between then and now, a lot of the businesses got together and they actually brought in somebody from PNC (Bank) to talk to them about what it looks like to get that nonprofit set up and there’s a lot of stuff involved in that,” Boburczak said. “It kept getting back to the point where just couldn’t justify it as a requirement. I pulled Saxonburg's, Harmony’s and Zelienople’s event policies and applications and none of them have that requirement.”
Under Mars’ new policy, all events must be “family friendly, community-oriented and open to the public.”
Organizers of an event will be billed at $50 per hour for each police officer, public works employee or other township employee needed to cover the event.
The policy requires event organizers to submit an application at least 90 days before the day of the event. Any event which expects 1,000 attendees must also provide a first-aid or EMS station.
The proposal of a comprehensive event policy for Mars was first publicly mentioned in March. Over the following months, the proposal drew scrutiny from small business owners who felt that aspects of it — namely, the nonprofit requirement — would hinder the ability to host an event in the borough.
In May, the borough agreed to set up an advisory committee to consult on the adoption of an event policy, consisting of two council members, two members of the business community and two taxpaying residents.
Small business owners packed the municipal building once again on Monday night in anticipation of the passing of the resolution to adopt the policy. Unlike past meetings on the subject, this one occurred with little controversy or tension.
Prior to the vote on approving the policy, council briefly debated making a last-second change from a 90-day window to a 60-day window, but ultimately decided against it.
