Congressman Jim Gerlach released the following statement today after learning that the Department of Veterans Affairs’ decision to place the new Southeastern Pennsylvania Veterans Cemetery on the Dollington property in Bucks County was done with no written agreement in place for the immediate acquisition of the property. Immediate site acquisition was a key point the VA used in picking the Dollington property over a location in Chester County.
“After the Veterans Administration’s initial decision to pick the Dollington property in Bucks County over the more centrally located and cheaper Pennhurst site in Chester County, I fully believed that the decision was both a waste of taxpayer dollars as well as an complete disregard for the wishes of the local veterans who first approached me about bringing a new cemetery to this region years ago,” Rep. Gerlach said. “But to learn, as we did today, that the VA picked the Bucks County property with no written assurance that the Bucks site was even conveyable is completely irresponsible and unacceptable and I strongly urge the VA to reconsider their decision and reevaluate where the best location is for this cemetery.”
Congressman Gerlach worked closely with many local and state officials to prepare a proposal for transforming the now vacant Pennhurst property in East Vincent into the site of a new regional veterans cemetery. The Pennhurst proposal, despite being $2 million dollars cheaper and more centrally located than the Bucks County property, was passed over by the VA because, among other reasons, the Dollington site was “immediately developable.”
It was reported in the February 15, 2006 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer that the Dollington decision was predicated on the property seller, Toll Bros. Inc., eventually receiving a favorable zoning change that would allow it to build 235 family homes on another 2 parcels elsewhere in Upper Makefield Twp., Bucks County. That decision is not in place at this time, according to the article.
“The veterans of Southeastern Pennsylvania deserve answers from the VA, and we will continue to fight until we get them,” Rep. Gerlach said.
Congressman Gerlach sent a letter today to VA Sec. James Nicholson outlining his concerns about the site selection process and asking the VA to immediately reconsider its site selection decision. A copy of that letter is attached.
