CENTER TWP — Engineers and state workers say a fix for drainage issues at the Veterans Affairs building off North Duffy Road should arrive within a year, but township officials and neighboring property owners sound skeptical.

The township's engineer, David Heath, told the board of supervisors Wednesday night about recent meetings he attended with representatives of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and Stantec, the company that handled construction of the Abie Abraham VA Health Care Center. Heath said passers-by will likely spot a surveyor on the site this week.

“I think they're getting close,” Heath said.

Complaints about run-off from the center are well documented. Its construction included several retention ponds that empty water in a stream through neighboring properties, rather than retain it. Those properties include land owned by the Herold family, which sold property for the VA's construction.

What's new is a high-level of interest from the DEP that Heath said looks to bring results. He said he believed the previous plans were approved only by the Butler County Conservation District, but that complaints over run-off spawned renewed interest from the larger state organization. New plans, which Heath said align with township desires, will be “double and triple checked” under the DEP's highest powered magnifying glass before they make it to the township for its approval, he reckoned.

“By the time they make it to me, I don't think there will be much left for me to do,” Heath said.

Ron Flatt, chairman of the township board, sounded less convinced.

“I'm not sure, at this point, that we could be more skeptical as a board,” Flatt said.

Ray Heichel, whose home sits adjacent to the VA and receives much of the run-off, said he's spoken to someone else at the DEP who tells a different story than the one Heath is hearing. Heichel said he's been told that the DEP is considering further legal action to remedy the situation. None present knew why two sources within the same organization would indicate such differing situations, but Heath emphasized that he's seen the drafted solutions and knows work is occurring.

“I'm just telling you what he told me,” Heichel said to Heath. “I believe everything you said.”

Flatt summarized the problem: “They built a beautiful building and put a swamp out front.”

The township's hope is that the DEP comes back with a plan to drain said swamp — and that it works better than whatever arm of the organization OK'd it last time, be that the conservation district or someone else.