There is a legal battle unresolved in Muncy Township in eastern Lycoming County.

Township Supervisor Terri Lauchle, the board chair, has a pending civil action against previous supervisors and the township.

In court documents, Lauchle filed a verified petition for preliminary injunction. She represents herself in the case.

Lauchle seeks immediate injunctive relief to halt what she called a series of alleged unlawful, nontransparent, and developer-driven governmental actions occurring in the township in the final weeks of the outgoing board of supervisors.

In an overview, these actions Lauchle alleges include, among other things:

• Processing a substantial commercial subdivision for FAMVEST as a minor subdivision despite significant site disturbance, wetlands, stormwater facilities and highway-adjacent impacts. FAMVEST is the developer working to bring commercial properties to The District, the former site of the Lycoming Mall, including a Bass Pro at the former Best Buy location.

• Conducting and attempting to conduct official business in non-public settings, including excluding a sitting supervisor from critical developer meetings.

• Using non-disclosure agreements with public officials to conceal public business from residents.

Manipulating township budget lines and committing public funds without formal public votes.

• Attempting to authorize the township solicitor to send a letter to the state Department of Transportation (PennDOT) on behalf of FAMVEST without board approval and without plans on file.

• Advancing a data center zoning ordinance at the urging of counsel, on an accelerated schedule, without full planning commission review and robust public hearings.

• Proceeding as though tax abatement-benefit structure for the Lycoming Mall site is valid, despite the absence of a required intergovernmental cooperation agreement.

The document alleges Lauchle faced harm as supervisor-elect by the actions of the former board.

Her petition alleges that once such approvals were granted, she would “inherit a township already bound by these actions, with little practical ability to reverse or cure the harm.”

Lauchle claimed that she was excluded from information and meetings, including a remote meeting (Zoom) with the developer, and was asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement that would have restricted her access to and ability to share public information with the very residents who elected her.

In October, associate township solicitor Zachary DuGan reached out to the township recommending that an ordinance amending the zoning regulations to allow data centers in the industrial zoning district be adopted as soon as possible, the court document said.

DuGan’s correspondence acknowledged that there may be some interest in placing a data center in or around the township area and recommended fast-tracking the ordinance to accommodate interest, the paperwork stated.

To date, supervisors also have not hired a solicitor to provide legal guidance for the township this year.

An attempt to reach DuGan at Perciballi and Williams, a law firm in Williamsport, on this particular matter, was not successful.

It should be noted that the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS) said townships typically reappoint or appoint a solicitor during reorganization of each year.

Solicitors help supervisors and township officials to avoid any legal missteps and protect the township from potential liability.