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Citizen Attempts To Void $15 Million Settlement Between West Deptford Twp., Sunoco

WEST DEPTFORD, N.J. (CBS) -- West Deptford Township committee members were due in Superior Court Thursday to respond to a suit from a citizen attempting to terminate a proposed $15 million settlement between the township and Sunoco.

An appeal of property assessments for a refinery along the Delaware River was presented by Sunoco and is currently at the state's Local Finance Board for review.

Township Mayor, Ray Chintall, has refused to divulge any of the settlement terms that have been proposed to resolve Sunoco's appeal.

Gary Keuhnapfel, township resident, filed suit in March looking to void the settlement between West Deptford Township and Sunoco on grounds that the agreement was composed behind doors.

Attorney John W. Trimble Jr., who filed the suit on Keuhnapfel's behalf, said committee agendas failed to give a resolution and provide terms of the settlement agreement.

Officials representing the municipality have also been unsuccessful in retrieving information about the settlement.

It is reported that Sunoco's counsel attended closed door township meetings before the settlement was revealed, which violates New Jersey's Open Public Meetings Act.

Township committee members were ordered to bring minutes in forms, transcripts, and recordings from their 2010 closed meetings, which will be reviewed.

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