BUTLER TWP — Economic development and public safety were among the topics covered by Butler Township and City of Butler officials at a joint meeting Thursday night.

“What’s good for Butler Township is good for Butler City, and what’s good for the city is good for Butler Township,” Mayor Tom Donaldson said during the meeting at the township building. “We need to work together when possible.”

The two municipalities met last year in the city.

Commissioner Joe Hasychak said he hopes the two municipalities can meet about every six months.

“Communication is very important,” he said.

Development

Hasychak said the potential loss of the VA Butler Healthcare center is a concern for the township.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs this year awarded the proposed new health care center to a site on North Duffy Road in Center Township after having previously awarded the contract to land on Route 68 commonly called Deshon Woods.

The VA canceled that project due to concerns about its former developer, Westar Development.

“It’s devastating,” Hasychak said of the change.

A bid protest was filed with the U.S. Accountability Office by Oxford Development, an unsuccessful bidder for the project when the VA put it back out to bid. Oxford was hoping to develop the Deshon Woods site.

Township manager Ed Kirkwood said the township feels the proposed site on North Duffy Road has deficiencies, including that the project would not be on a major road with adequate traffic capacity, police coverage and snow removal services during winter.

Kirkwood said previous traffic studies for the Deshon Woods site indicated more than 3,400 vehicles per day would travel to the center.

Kirkwood said the township has talked to the offices of U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-3rd, and U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey but said they are having issues getting answers from the VA as well.

“It’s absolutely terrifying how they do business down there,” he said of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Hasychak said losing the project to Center Township would mean the reduction of about 350 jobs and hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes for the township.

While the pending VA project was a concern for officials, the township also has a number of new development projects recently completed or in the works.

Two new hotels were completed in the township within the past year, while a new shopping complex featuring a Dick’s Sporting Goods store on New Castle Road is an upcoming major project.

City council updated the township on the Centre City project, saying the project is going forward.

Donaldson said the city’s 239-space garage will take about a year to complete, while adding J.S. Capitol Construction, the developer of the hotel, has its financing in place and also is preparing to begin construction this summer.

“It’s an exciting time in downtown Butler,” Donaldson said.

The mayor also spoke about the new Dunkin’ Donuts project on North Main Street. Crews started tearing down the former Flynn Tire building this week. Donaldson said he believes it will take about 20 weeks to build the restaurant once the site is cleared.

The mayor listed the future of the former Penn Theater as another key issue for downtown development. He said the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, which holds the mortgage on the property, expects to improve the facade this year. He said the city is also working to find potential buyers for the theater.

Township commissioner Dave Zarnick urged city officials to contact state Rep. Brian Ellis to voice opposition to legislation that would give the General Assembly the ability to determine the definition of a public charity.

Since a public charity is exempt from paying property taxes, allowing the Legislature to determine which properties are exempt would impact a municipalities’ income.

Public safety

The two municipalities discussed the interaction between their respective public safety departments, specifically talking about a countywide mutual aid fire protection agreement.

Council earlier this year talked about the possibility of charging other municipalities when the city’s paid fire department responded to an emergency call.

Council at its meeting in January discussed the idea of charging a fee based on a percentage of the department’s total dispatches compared to its overall budget, which produced an estimated cost of about $575 per call in 2014.

At that meeting the city said its firefighters responded to 89 emergency calls outside the city in 2014, 83 of which were to Butler Township.

Township officials Thursday said those numbers misrepresented responses to the township, saying 29 of those calls were to Butler Memorial Hospital while a handful more were to the Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

Kirkwood also said many of the calls are properties right on the border of the two municipalities.

Councilwoman Kathy Kline, who originally initiated the conversation in January, maintained the city should still explore potential changes to the mutual aid agreement.

Officials with both municipalities said their respective fire departments have good working relationships and support each other, adding any talks of the mutual aid agreement is a political discussion.

Officials said the two municipalities’ police departments also share a good working relationship.

Donaldson requested the township consider making a donation to the city’s K-9 police dog fund, which is funded solely through donations. “It’s a very important tool and their upkeep is very steep,” the mayor said, adding the city’s two dogs are available to other municipalities anytime.

Donaldson did not give a figure on how much he was requesting.

“Any significant amount would help,” he said.

Township officials questioned whether the city has reached out to any other municipality that has used the dog in the past.

Zarnick said requests for donations should be made through a letter for consideration.