Lawsuit Over Eagle Point Settlement Now Includes State Board

There’s a new wrinkle in over on tax appeals at the .

On top of going after the township committee, West Deptford resident Gary Kuehnapfel’s suit now targets the state’s Local Finance Board (LFB), Mayor Ray Chintall said Thursday night.

“Now they’re going after the state of New Jersey,” Chintall said.

A planned Tuesday night special township committee would’ve allowed the committee to amend their application to the LFB to include a potential settlement with Coastal/El Paso, the former owners of Eagle Point in time for the deadline for the April 11 LFB meeting.

That township committee meeting was cancelled immediately after being called to order, on the recommendation of the township’s solicitor, Anthony Ogozalek Jr.

The township committee has been hit with an order to show cause, and will have to produce closed-session minutes, recordings and transcripts for review outside the public’s eye at a proceeding next Thursday.

“At this point, we’ll be holding all matters in confidence regarding this tax appeal until after the April 12 court date,” Chintall said. “Unfortunately, the legal action taken against the township is forcing the committee to take these conservative measures.”

Kuehnapfel's suit is aimed at deep-sixing the settlement with Sunoco, over accusations the township committee violated the Open Public Meetings Act in settling with the oil company.