That took the humor out of the conversation.
I understood why they were frightened.
If the road disappeared, the residents would face a longer, less convenient route by the county bypass. The alternate connection added several miles and went past the transfer station.
For households relying on the road twice a day, disruption would be a serious problem.
Margaret knew that.
She had taken the one thing every resident depended on and convinced them I was about to steal it.
“I haven’t threatened their access,” I said.
“Then why haven’t you told them?”
“Because I’m being sued. My attorney is handling communications, and I’m not going to make public statements that complicate the case.”
Carl nodded.
“That makes sense.”
He opened the folder.
“Then maybe I can help with something that doesn’t require a public statement.”
He laid several pages on the table.
Board minutes.
Maintenance reports.
Old community notices.
I glanced at the dates.
“Where did you get these?”
“I served on the records committee years ago. I kept copies of things I thought might matter.”
“Why?”
“Because I learned early that if Margaret didn’t like a fact, that fact had a way of disappearing from the conversation.”
He pushed a document toward me.
“Start with 2003.”
I read it.
A prior Cedarwood Ridge board had voted to maintain and assert control over the road corridor along the subdivision’s western boundary.
The motion passed unanimously.
The minutes described no title examination.
No survey review.
No county authorization.
No recorded easement.
Three board members had voted to assert control over a road they had never established they had any legal right to control.
I looked up.
“This is the basis for their ownership claim?”
“As far as I can tell.”
“They voted themselves authority?”
“Pretty much.”
“Over somebody else’s property?”
Carl rubbed his forehead.
“They were already maintaining the road. I think they assumed maintenance meant control.”
I read the motion again.
Twelve minutes of discussion.
One vote.
Thirty-one years of consequences.
“Does Margaret know about this?”
“She knows the motion exists. She cites it whenever someone asks why the HOA controls the road.”
“Has she ever checked the underlying plat?”
“I doubt it.”
