“I agree.”
Then I read Karen’s sentence aloud:
Portable machines create a different impression.
Several residents murmured.
Karen’s face hardened.
“That was internal board discussion.”
Howard answered.
“It was HOA business.”
“That email was not intended for public circulation.”
“You accidentally included the homeowner you were discussing.”
Rosa whispered:
“Administrative natural selection.”
I almost laughed.
Denise raised a hand.
“There is another issue.”
Karen turned.
“What?”
Denise placed a blank form on the screen.
“The document titled Emergency Noise Compliance Notice is not a management-company form.”
Karen said:
“It’s based on our standard violation template.”
“Based on.”
“Yes.”
“Who created it?”
Karen didn’t answer.
Denise continued.
“Our records show it was uploaded from your board account at 5:52 p.m. Thursday.”
“That is within my authority.”
“No existing board policy uses that form or the phrase ‘by order of HOA president.’”
The room became noticeably quieter.
I looked at Karen.
“You created the notice before you came to my house?”
She did not answer me.
Howard asked:
“Was there a board vote?”
“No.”
“Management authorization?”
“No.”
“Emergency safety determination?”
“I made the determination.”
Rachel leaned back.
“Based on what?”
Karen looked toward the audience.
“I heard the machine.”
Rosa raised her hand.
“I’d like to respond to that.”
Karen tried to move on.
Howard recognized her anyway.
Rosa stood.
“Karen came to my house after Mark’s and asked whether the generator bothered me.”
Karen said:
“That was routine fact gathering.”
Rosa continued.
“I told her I could barely hear it from my backyard.”
“And?”
“She then asked whether Mark had offered me electricity.”
“That is irrelevant.”
“No. Because two days later your hearing complaint says he was distributing electrical resources.”
People began whispering.
Rosa raised the battery pack photograph on her phone.
“He loaned me a battery because my power was out.”
Karen said:
“And that creates potential liability.”
Denise looked up.
“Under what HOA rule?”
Karen had no answer.
Then Howard asked the question everybody in the room had been waiting for.
“Did Mark help power your sump pump Saturday?”
Karen froze.
I stood.
“I don't want to use that to embarrass her.”
The room quieted.
“But yes. She came to my house because her sump pump had no power. I loaned her a battery unit after checking that it could safely run the equipment temporarily.”
Karen said: