Reinhold "Fred" Theil, a former supervisor in Douglass Township sued by municipal officials for his role in the disposal of Hurricane Sandy debris at a business more than two years ago, wants to return to the board.

                Theil filed a countersuit June 17 seeking more than $100,000 in damages from the township amid claims that municipal officials "knew and acted with reckless disregard as to the falsity of the publicized matter."

                The former supervisor – who resigned from the board May 6, 2013 – promised residents he would do his best to keep the township's police department intact and keep taxes low.  "There is some unfinished business that I left on the table," Theil said.

                Theil described the civil lawsuit against him, in which township officials attempt to recover $36,943.82 it spent in legal and engineering fees required by the delivery of the debris, as unfounded. On Monday, Thiel denied any wrongdoing.

                "I did nothing wrong," said Thiel, who began serving on the board in January of 2012. "The suit filed against me has no merit. I am entitled to sue them back, and I have every intent of winning."

                Supervisors Chairman John Stasik, Jr. is the lone listed candidate in the Democratic Primary for the seat, according to an unofficial list of candidates.

                Dr. Alan Keyser, Theil's opponent in the May 19 Republican Primary election, participated in the agreement that led to the closure of Mountain Mulch, the business at 244 Sassamansville Road in Sassamansville that received 250,000 yards of debris from Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

                An osteopathic family physician with a practice in Schwenksville, Keyser expressed a desire to maintain the township's agricultural feel.  He called the recent completion of the township's master park plan terrific, and he suggested expanding the municipality's greenways and open space programs as well as creating additional trails between parks.

                According to Thiel, municipal officials have preserved enough open space. He says further preservation would cost the taxpayers since those designated properties are removed from the tax rolls.

                Promoting business development along Route 100, maintaining "an orderly fire department" and keeping taxes low would be among Thiel's top priorities.

                Keyser, 61, a Sassamansville resident who owns land adjacent to the Mountain Mulch property and one of six property owners included in a tri-party agreement that requires the business to cease all mulching operations, vacate the property or sell the property by the end of the March, said he was surprised when he learned Thiel was running for the board.

                "I thought there had to be a better alternative," said Keyser, 61. "So I decided to get into the race. The entire experience with the township opened my eyes to what is happening with local government."

                According to a civil lawsuit, filed in early June by the township officials in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, Theil acted "without legal authority" to allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dump 250,000 yards of debris from Hurricane Sandy at the business.

                It claims that Theil acted outside the scope of his authority as chairman of the board of supervisors and did not officially represent the township. 

                It alleges that Theil granted the request without contacting "any other supervisors, zoning board members or Douglass Township officials in general."

According to Thiel, the Army Corp did not need permission to deliver the debris to the business. He explained that language of the governing variance allowed the dumping.

                The countersuit, described as a tort of false light, states that that the township "knew and acted with reckless disregard as to the falsity of the publicized matter." according to the suit.

                "The claims and assertions that Mr. Theil caused damages to the Township and the public…are highly offensive to a reasonable person," it states.

                Theil, in the suit filed by attorney Lawrence Sager, a former Douglass Township solicitor, claims he did nothing "to give rise to cognizable claims for attorney's fees and costs as alleged. Strict proof is demanded."

                According the counter suit, township officials placed no conditions "concerning the source of the product, the amount of the product, the number of trucks, or any restrictions to mitigate the impacts of the proposed use on neighboring properties and residents."