PEBBLE CREEK - Foiled again.

For the third time in four months, an insurgent group of homeowners failed to fill an empty slot on a homeowners association board with one of its own, hindering efforts to gradually gain control of a board it says misspends $400,000 in annual fees.

By a vote of 3-1, board members voted to appoint Joe Amon to fill a vacancy left open by the resignation of John Fletcher two weeks before. Amon, who didn't attend last week's meeting, beat out Shane Billings and Linda Oakley-Clancy, who resigned herself three weeks ago.

Confused? 

Welcome to Pebble Creek, a community in flux ever since Billings, along with a small group of other Pebble Creek homeowners, began raising questions on board spending after details emerged last year about a lawsuit filed by the association.

In January 2002, the board voted to replace a lawn that it said wasn't up to snuff. The board charged the owner of the home, Ed Simmons, $2,212 for the work and sued when he didn't pay. Simmons countersued, saying the board overreached its authority. The cases are still pending.

The detail that grabbed the attention of Billings and his neighbors, however, was that the board awarded the job of replacing the lawn to one of its board members, Michael Meggison.

Pebble Creek is a deed-restricted community of 1,049 homes north of Cross Creek Boulevard that collects $345 every year from each of its homeowners. Five board members then decide how to spend that money.

Billings' wife, Kori, and three other other homeowners ran for the board after concluding that current board members weren't adequately disclosing how they spent the fees they collected.

During November's community election, all four of the challengers lost an election that they said employed an outdated proxy-voting system that favored the incumbents.

When one of the board members resigned in January, Billings and his group vied to have one of its members, Bob Vega, appointed to serve out the term. But again, the board passed him up and appointed Consuelo Lauer, who had been nominated by the board's vice president, Michael Carricato.

The tide seemingly turned just three weeks ago when Oakley-Clancy resigned and issued a rebuke of fellow board member Fletcher, who earns $16,000 a year as the community center manager.

"There is a conflict of interest with being a board member and an employee of the board," she wrote in the March 8 resignation letter. "There is still the question of how the community center manager accounts for his time."

When the board asked for nominations, Vega's supporters again nominated him. This time, there were no alternatives and he was appointed to the board.

Then Fletcher resigned.

He said it had nothing to do with Vega's appointment.

"I resigned because there was no vocal support from the board for the role I served," said Fletcher, who said he put in more than the required hours to earn his pay.

So when the board moved to replace Fletcher, two homeowners nominated Billings, who saw this as an opportunity to join Vega on the board.

Oakley-Clancy also reconsidered after she was nominated to replace Fletcher.

But she and Billings lost to Amon, who was out of town on business.

"I'm disgusted by the way Michael Carricato is clearly handpicking board members," Billings said. "(Amon) wasn't even in attendance Monday night, and he hasn't been involved with the community."

Carricato said it was Amon who contacted the board about running and that he had nothing to do with his nomination.

"I felt Joe Amon was the best qualified person for this board at this time," Carricato said. "He's a registered engineer, has a background in construction and has been involved with our efforts on deed restrictions in the past."

Carricato, who served as a strong-willed board president for five years, has dismissed criticism of the board as grandstanding. He has dubbed the four candidates who lost in November as the "Fearsome Foursome."

"People who buy into Pebble Creek get more value for their money than other areas, and that's evident by the amount of time it takes to sell a home here," he said. "Turnover is good, the prices are high. The homeowners association must be doing something right in keeping values this high."

But some homeowners who aren't involved in the group led by Billings aren't siding with Carricato.

John Butler said he met Billings in September while he and the others were handing out fliers.

"My wife and I immediately embraced them because of what I call the "Carricato mentality,' " Butler said. "There's no accountability of how they're spending $400,000 of our money, and that's got to stop.

"The "Fearsome Foursome?' It's going to be the "Fearsome Five Hundred,' I can tell you that."