Small businesses along Grand Avenue in Mars. Butler Eagle file photo

MARS — Borough councilman Brad Price proposed a fund which would compensate downtown business owners whenever streets are closed to accommodate local events.

Price’s “Business Impact Fund” proposal — as presented at the council’s meeting on Monday night, Feb. 20 — would establish a fund containing between $10,000 and $50,000 per year. This money would compensate downtown businesses for losses sustained whenever they are forced to close for events such as Mars Applefest, Mars New Year and car shows.

“Closing streets in a commercial business district is no trivial matter,” Price said. “Business owners can be adversely impacted by local government action through the loss of parking, impaired or diminished pedestrian access to their property, and from reduced vehicle traffic flows.”

Price cited Mars’ recent experience serving as a filming location for an Amazon Freevee TV series as inspiration for the proposal. According to Price, when the production company Picrow came to Mars to shoot scenes for the series “Sprung” in September 2021, they compensated business owners with thousands of dollars each.

“Amazon’s film company fully understood their financial liability and responsibility in this regard,” Price said.

In the proposal, Price suggests the fund of $10,000 to $50,000 be established to “avoid any future income loss litigation.”

As part of the proposal, any council member who votes “yes” to a street closure for an event would contribute $100 to the fund, which would be withdrawn from their borough paycheck. The mayor, who does not vote, could then donate $100 from his paycheck per event at his discretion, per the proposal.

In addition, the proposal for the business impact fund asks that most future outdoor events be moved away from downtown to Marburger Field. The proposal advocates for the move of car shows, brewfests, food truck events, Halloween celebrations, Makers Mark and more.

This would “remove business financial concerns going forward,” the proposal said.

Exempt would be the Fourth of July parade, Mars New Year, Applefest, the homecoming parade and Light-Up Night, per the proposal.

Price owns the Mars Brew House coffee shop, located on Pittsburgh Street, less than half a mile from the borough municipal building on Arch Street.

No action was taken on the proposal at Monday night’s meeting. However, other council members suggested that it needed some revisions.

“There was just a conversation,” said Mars Mayor Gregg Hartung. “It sort of came out of the blue. It was unexpected.”

Council president G. Michael Fleming suggested that if the proposal went through as written, it would lead the borough down a slippery slope.

“The endgame here is that we don’t approve any events, period,” Fleming said.

Fellow board member Alan Boburczak echoed Fleming’s sentiments.

“If we’re targeting, attacking and stopping events in town, we’re just killing town,” Boburczak said. “These are things that bring life to the town. That's part of why I like living here.”

One key sticking point for other council members was that the fund, as presented on Monday night, would be paid for by the taxpayers of Mars.

“To load it all on the taxpayer is just unrealistic,” Fleming said.

Regardless, Price was adamant that it was the borough’s responsibility to compensate local business owners for the time they are unable to stay open.

“If a borough employee came to work, and they weren’t paid for their day of work, that would be a problem,” Price said. “When you get into people’s livelihoods … when a loss is created, somebody can be liable for those losses.”