Possible merged municipality to be called Mars Township
ADAMS TWP — The name “Adams Township” may not be long for this world.
It was revealed during a public hearing on Tuesday night, March 24, Mars Township would be the name for a proposed combined municipality made up of Adams Township and Mars Borough.
“It only makes sense to align the name with the school and the community we’re all in,” said Adams Township Supervisor Russell Ford.
The hearing — held Tuesday at Twelve Oaks Mansion on Scharberry Lane in Adams Township — was the second in a series of joint public sessions being held by the two municipalities to elicit feedback from the community on the merger proposal, which was made public in January.
Unlike the first meeting, which was held Jan. 22, the one held Tuesday night featured personnel from Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development, the agency which has been coordinating with the municipalities on the merger proposal.
Mars and Adams Township residents are far from alone in their current situation. According to Terri Cunkle, local government specialist for the DCED, seven mergers or consolidations have gone before Pennsylvania voters since 2021. Five were approved.
“DCED is not out here selling mergers,” Cunkle said. “We’re just here to help guide you through it and provide transparency for the people as far as the process is concerned.”
For the merger to go ahead, a majority of voters in both municipalities will have to vote “yes” to approve it in November. If that happens, based on the text of the referendum, the transition process would be set in motion from that day forward and the date of completion would be set for Jan. 1, 2028.
Notably, if the question fails in at least one of the municipalities, it cannot be placed on the ballot again for a minimum of five years.
“If it fails, Mars Borough remains Mars Borough and Adams Township remains Adams Township,” Cunkle said. “Everyone just keeps on clicking the same way.”
However, Cunkle reiterated Mars Borough would legally cease to exist if the merger were to go through.
“You would just become (a renamed) Adams Township,” Cunkle said, addressing current Mars residents directly. “Your tax structure would be the same as Adams Township and then you would follow their ordinances.”
Representatives from both municipalities also reiterated Valencia Borough would not be included in the merger.
“We actually had a meeting with them two weeks ago and it just did not fit the mold for them to come into here … for a lot of reasons,” Ford said. “We did a five-year analysis of all their income and everything. It just did not make sense. There’s a time and a place to do these types of things. This is the time and place right now to actually bring both the communities together.”
According to Mars Mayor Gregg Hartung, if the merger were to go through, Mars Borough Council — made up of seven members — would be dissolved with the formation of the new township. However, he noted some council members could serve on a premerger transition team.
In addition, the term of Ronald Nacey on the Adams Township Board of Supervisors is set to expire in 2027, one year before the merger would theoretically be finalized.
“I believe that a transitional committee from both the borough and township, after the vote to merge, will work with two to three people from each board through 2027 on the process to bring everything together, then regular elections for supervisors will fill the needed seats of the new entity,” Hartung said after the hearing.
At the close of Tuesday’s public hearing, it was announced future public hearings would be held regarding the proposed merger, but no dates were announced.
