BUTLER TWP — The Butler Transit Authority wants to include Center Township as a full member.

The authority board passed a motion Tuesday night to request Center join Butler and Butler Township as members of the authority.

Authority executive director John Paul explained that both Butler and Butler Township pay local match fees, and that the organizations at which the authority makes stops outside those areas have to pay to be served.

Having Center as a member would mean that the township would pay for services instead of the individual organizations.

“Basically, they’re getting service to their township through entities that are located in Center Township, versus just making it clean and having the township providing the local match and becoming a member of the authority as growth continues,” Paul said.

The motion was a nonagenda item by Dave Zarnick, the Butler Township commissioners board president, who was at the meeting.

Zarnick mentioned Center’s growth, specifically the VA Butler Healthcare Center that is being built there, as the reason he brought up the issue.

“It’s been building,” he said. “We can’t keep going out to Center Township, stopping here, stopping there. We can’t just piecemeal.

“Center Township is a growing community, and they need to realize that. It was said the VA has public transportation.”

Paul said that about 2½ months ago he met with David Cord, VA Butler Healthcare director, and spoke preliminarily about costs for providing transportation to the new health care center.

“It’s not going to be free,” Paul said. “Again, they’re outside of the city and (Butler Township).”

Paul said that he proposed an amount to Cord. He also told Cord that Cord needed to send a letter to the authority requesting transportation, and that the authority would have to approve that.

Paul said the authority has not yet received a letter.

The next step in requesting for Center to join the authority, according to Paul, is to ask Butler to send a representative along with Zarnick to speak to Center Township officials.

Butler Mayor Tom Donaldson said that Center “needs to look into this.”

“The transit authority is expensive to operate. It costs the city a lot of money, the township a lot of money, and traditionally, no matter where you’re at, seems to have financial problems,” he said.

“However, Center Township is a growing residential area, and they have the VA going in there. They have to have the buses running.

“This needs to be looked at. We shouldn’t be giving anything away for free.”

But he also said that even if Center joins, they may not be board members.

“There would be no guarantee for representation for Center Township,” he said.

Authority board member Joe Hasychak, who had previously asked Center to join the authority in 1989 and was turned down, indicated that he was not hopeful that Center would be agreeable.

“I’ll hesitantly vote yes, but I have no good feelings for Center Township doing anything for us,” he said.