Kelly continues to question VA actions on health center
CENTER TWP — U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-3rd, said he is seeking answers to questions about the proposed U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs health care center on North Duffy Road.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office last week dismissed a bid protest filed against the proposed new center by Oxford Development, which was seeking to build the center on a site in Butler Township.
The VA on Dec. 31 awarded the contract to build the 168,000 square-foot facility to Cambridge Healthcare Solutions. Cambridge is preparing to build the center on about 45 acres along North Duffy Road, about 1.5 miles away from the current VA center on New Castle Road.
Kelly said he has no information on why the contract was awarded to Cambridge over the three other potential bidders, nor any explanation why the bid protest was dismissed.
“It’s totally consistent in the way they operate,” Kelly said of the VA. “They have not been clear or transparent since the beginning.”
Kelly said problems with the project started when the VA awarded the contract in 2012 to Westar Development, which was going to build on the Deshon Woods site on route 68 that Oxford hoped to take over.
However, the VA canceled that agreement in August 2013, claiming Westar made false representations in the bid process.
The VA picked Cambridge when it reopened the bidding to four developers, including Oxford which had an option to buy the Deshon Woods site if given the contract.
Kelly said his office has attempted to get explanation about why Cambridge was given the 20-year lease. He criticized the VA for not offering any detail about the bid process, and for announcing the award on New Year’s Eve.
“It’s really discouraging,” Kelly said. “The one thing that is consistent is no one can answer you with a straight answer. You have to keep prodding and going back again.”
Kelly said he intends to write a letter to the GAO, asking why the bid protest by dismissed.
Kelly said his office will continue to seek answers.
“My desire is to have an open hearing in Butler so the people we serve can sit there and listen to their reasoning,” he said.
