MARS — The borough has chosen its third new council member of 2026, as Jana Snavely has been appointed to fill a vacancy left after a January resignation.

Snavely, a Mars resident for 24 years, is a full-time music teacher at Eden Christian Academy in Pittsburgh. According to a profile provided by the borough, she “views serving on council as a meaningful way to give back to the community that has given them so much.”

Snavely will replace Christina Clutter, who resigned from borough council in January to take up a new role as the borough’s secretary/treasurer.

During the borough council meeting Monday night, Feb. 2, Clutter was awarded with a miniature silver flying saucer by borough Mayor Gregg Hartung as a token of appreciation for her many years of service.

Snavely was due to be formally sworn into her new role at Monday night’s council meeting, but could not attend.

The next borough council meeting is scheduled for Monday, Feb. 16.

Hartung, who also manages the biennial Mars New Year festival, announced during Monday night’s meeting the festival committee donated about $2,000 in leftover funds from the June 2025 event to support victims of wildfires in Los Angeles. The donation was in support of recovery efforts from January 2025.

Hartung said the decision was motivated by the fact some of the guests for the event work for the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which narrowly escaped the blaze.

“We felt that because of the fires in Los Angeles and some of the NASA employees having come from Los Angeles to be there it’d be nice to send a $2,000 check to help the victims of the fires out,” Hartung said. “They’re still trying to recover.”

The next Mars New Year is scheduled for June 2027.