A town hall meeting to discuss the controversial bid process for the new VA Butler Healthcare facility has been canceled, according to U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-3rd.

The meeting was supposed to occur Aug. 27 at the American Legion Hall in Lyndora. Representatives for the VA and Cambridge Healthcare Solutions, which was the developer of the site, were asked to attend and answer questions about the site.

However, due to legal action surrounding the project, particularly a protest by the original developer filed in January, neither VA officials nor Cambridge officials would attend.

Kelly, who was to sponsor the meeting, said this is nothing new when it comes to trying to learn more about this project.

“There’s no distribution of information,” Kelly said.

He said he wanted the meeting to be an open event with information distributed. But without the participation of the VA and the development company, he said that cannot happen.

Butler Township manager Ed Kirkwood had a strong interest in attending the meeting and questioning officials. He said this morning he is disappointed it was canceled.

“It makes you wonder what the VA is trying to hide,” Kirkwood said.

The 168,000-square-foot facility originally was to be built on the Deshon Woods property in Butler Township. However, the original developer — Westar — came under government investigation in 2013 and had its contract terminated.

A second round of bidding came in 2014. The VA awarded the project to Cambridge, which moved the project to the Herold farm in Center Township.

Another company, Oxford Development, which had an agreement to buy the Deshon Woods property if it was awarded the bid, challenged the agreement with Cambridge. The Office of Government Accountability dismissed the case after it decided the VA must repay Oxford for its costs in preparing the bid.

Oxford then on Jan. 26 filed a protest bid in federal court, alleging the government improperly handled the project’s second round of bidding.

The VA canceled Westar’s bid in August 2013, claiming the company made false representations in its bid. When Kelly questioned VA officials about the bidding process, he said it sounded like no actual vetting was done to make sure Westar was on the level. He said he was told if a company makes it through the bid process, the government assumes it’s a good company.

“So, what makes it a valid bid?” Kelly questioned.

He said he could not get any information on the second bid process when Cambridge was awarded the contract.

Kelly said he has been wondering why the project, originally bid at $75 million, now was bid at $127 million.

Despite his efforts, Kelly said he cannot get answers to most of the questions surrounding the troubled project.

“There’s no answer to your question,” Kelly said he has been told.

He said he would like to see a congressional hearing related to this project and other VA issues, where the VA would have to answer questions.

Although he has had problems with VA officials in Washington, he said he has no problems with VA officials in Butler.

Kirkwood said he would like to see Kelly have a congressional hearing in Butler rather than Washington, and wants to see VA officials subpoenaed so they can answer questions about the project, why the VA overspends taxpayer money and why wait times for veterans seeking doctor’s appointments can be so long.

Kirkwood said if the VA does not have anything to hide, it should be transparent.