BID TO PURGE WATER DISTRICT'S APPOINTEE GOES DOWN DRAIN : PANEL MAJORITY OKS REQUEST FOR RESIGNATION, BUT HANDS TIED.

Byline: Teresa Jimenez Daily News Staff Writer

An attempt to oust environmental activist Michael Kotch as the Newhall County Water District board's appointee to the Castaic Lake Water Agency board failed Thursday night.

A majority of the Newhall board requested Kotch's resignation as the representative to Castaic, which manages state water and distributes it to local retailers including the Newhall district.

Kotch was appointed to a four-year term on the Castaic board two years ago when the Newhall board was weighted by his political allies. But since a shake-up last year, he often is the lone dissenting vote on the five-member Newhall board.

The Castaic board is composed of seven elected board members and four appointed representatives from local water retailers.

The battle focuses on growth in the Santa Clarita Valley and the Castaic board is a key player. The agency has been considering purchasing 41,000 acre-feet of state water for $41 million, which could benefit the 21,000-home Newhall Ranch development.

Kotch's opponents on the Newhall board have ties to pro-growth groups, while Kotch is a member of the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning the Environment, known for fighting development proposals.

Motives questioned

Kotch and Ed Dunn, who lost his Newhall water board seat last year but won an elected post on the Castaic board in November, said the Newhall board's ouster effort was politically motivated.

But the three-member majority - Valerie Thomas, who made the motion requesting Kotch's resignation, Barbara Dore and Tom Campbell - said Kotch should be ousted because of poor attendance at Castaic meetings, not because of his political views.

``Objectively, Mr. Kotch attends fewer than 50 percent of the meetings,'' Thomas said. ``That was the gist of the motion, and is the gist of my thinking.''

Thomas could not make a motion to remove Kotch as representative because of a technicality in procedure.

The Newhall water board nominates its representative to the Castaic agency, and the agency approves that nomination. As a result, the Newhall water board does not hold the authority to undo the Castaic agency's appointment, Newhall water district attorney Jess Senecal said.

The only action the board could take Thursday was to ask for Kotch's resignation from the Castaic agency post, and that motion passed 4-1, with Kotch voting no. It is within Kotch's right to decline the request, Senecal said.

Kotch said he had never heard complaints about his service or attendance until Thursday night's meeting, and doubted that his absences were the issue.

``It was a political job that was going on,'' Kotch said. ``There was no discussion prior to the meeting about my attendance, and then suddenly there's this motion.''

Defends absences

Kotch added that although he has missed meetings because of out-of-town business trips, his fellow board members did not take into account Castaic agency meetings he missed to attend Newhall water district meetings.

In addition, Kotch said he faithfully reports on Castaic agency business objectively.

``Frankly, this board hasn't given me any explicit direction on how to represent the Newhall County Water District to (Castaic Lake Water Agency),'' Kotch said. ``Their participation has been virtually nil.''

Dore called Kotch hypocritical.

Several years ago, a Newhall water board member who was serving as the Castaic representative was unseated. Despite losing the election, Donald Hayes refused to surrender his post on the Castaic board.

As a result, Dunn, then board president, put forth a motion stating that the representative could be removed if he or she loses an election or is asked to resign by the board majority. Kotch seconded the motion.

``I would expect him to resign out of courtesy,'' Dore said. ``He was in favor of it two years ago. Why isn't he in favor of it now that it's him?''

Dunn argued, though, that his motion still did not remove Hayes from the board. Only public condemnation forced his resignation, Dunn said.

And Kotch said the resolution came after his appointment to the Castaic agency and does not apply to him.