She thanked him for keeping the paperwork organized.
He thanked her for speaking when he could not speak for her.
The meeting ended without a dramatic confession, a handcuffed villain, or a sudden fortune.
For the six homeowners, the result was still important.
They had entered the room as names on disputed pages.
They left as people the planning board had heard directly.
Martin Kroll’s position as secretary became untenable after the planning hearing.
Brenda accused him of leaking confidential records and asked the association board to remove him.
Martin requested a special meeting to review the association’s accounts instead.
Two board members supported his request, and the governing documents required the board to respond within a stated period.
The resulting meeting was less crowded than the planning hearing but more important financially.
A volunteer accountant named Renee Coleman had offered to review the records without promising an audit she was not qualified to perform.
She presented a list of missing monthly statements, inconsistently described payments, and unanswered questions about Glenway Community Holdings.
The association’s ordinary operating account showed dues, landscaping bills, and small community event expenses.
Separate invoices described corridor consulting work for which supporting approvals were difficult to locate.
Brenda claimed that the second set of records belonged to the developer’s private arrangement and lay outside the association’s authority.
Martin produced an email in which Brenda had called the corridor account an association-controlled project fund.
The contradiction required explanation.
Renee asked for receipts, bank statements, approvals, and the signed agreements governing transfers between entities.
Brenda refused to supply the requested materials during the meeting.
She said her accountant would respond later.
One board member asked why the association had collected money from homeowners who were not necessarily mandatory members.
Brenda answered that every resident benefited from the improvements.
The board member replied that benefiting from a service was not the same as owing whatever amount the president demanded.
Martin moved that an independent accountant be retained and that all disputed fee collection notices be suspended pending review.
The motion passed by a narrow margin.
Brenda objected to the vote, saying the board lacked authority to overrule her emergency powers.
The governing documents contained no emergency power that fit the situation.
Nina, attending as an observer for certain homeowners, made no attempt to decide the association’s internal procedure.
She recommended that the board consult independent counsel.
The board agreed.
Walter watched Martin leave the meeting with trembling hands.
