4 MEMBERS RESIGN FROM TOWN PANEL ALL CITE BATTLE OVER AIRPARK AS REASON.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer

AGUA DULCE - Four members of the Agua Dulce Town Council have resigned, citing persecution from a group that sued them for alleged violations of state open-meetings law, a regulation they were told did not apply to them.

Virginia Applen, Ze Gonzales, Jim Jennings and Jim Hall have left the seven-member advisory group within the last week, rendering it short of a quorum and unable to operate. The council, which advises Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich on local issues, has been pressured in recent months by proponents of a plan to expand the small Agua Dulce Airpark.

``All of our manpower is strictly volunteer, so when you have to comply with something as onerous as the Brown Act, it makes things that much more complicated for people doing this in their spare time,'' council President Andy Fried said Monday. ``When you look at the potential liability in a violation, you scare volunteers away. That's exactly what happened.''

Superior Court Judge Dzintra Janavs ruled July 15 that the council is a legislative body and falls under the requirements of the Ralph M. Brown Act.

The lawsuit, filed by Agua Dulce Airpark manager Mary Johnson and 15 others, including Town Councilman Richard Dyer, charged the group with prohibiting the electronic recording of its meetings, an action taken in April and rescinded in May.

Proponents of plans to expand the small airport in this semirural area face tough opposition in the community.

Gonzales and Hall were elected in November 2004 during a contentious struggle that was resolved when Antonovich intervened, appointing an impartial panel to verify and count ballots. Parties to the lawsuit include defeated candidates Eric Harnett and Lorene Cangiano, both proponents of the airpark.

``Since the election of 2004, the Agua Dulce Town Council has been under siege from a small group of residents,'' Applen wrote in her resignation letter. ``We are besieged at every meeting by a few who are just looking for us to make a mistake, instigating discord and destroying the spirit and purpose for which I thought the councils were formed: neighbor talking to neighbor in hopes of better understanding one another and building a stronger community.''

Applen also cited the thousands of dollars spent to defend volunteers willing to serve on the council or its subcommittees, money she terms as ``a drain of community resources.''

``The acrimony and intimidation is as strong as ever, keeping many who wish to participate from attending the meetings. This nullifies the very reason we have a town council.''

Gonzales said he believes airport supporters are trying to take over the council.

``They wanted a positive recommendation for the expansion,'' he said. ``Even though we are advisers to the county, the county doesn't always go with everything we say. We took a neutral position on the airpark. We never said for them not to do it. Now we're under the Brown Act, they're going to look for things and go after us. We have to pay out of our own pockets for attorneys because of our charter and we're not willing to do that.''

Carol Rock, [phone]

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com