@Madison85 We had cameras on the pool house of our neighborhood that wasn’t monitored except if there was an occasion of vandalism. That was the reason the cameras were placed originally .It was not part of a security company. It just recorded data. I want to say it only saved the data for a week at a time.
Are you still invited to the party? 
The suspicious part in bold:
I can’t help viewing this interaction from the other side: neighbor walks over to invite another neighbor to a party and is confronted fairly aggressively about the upcoming meeting and told she is “unhappy” with him.
Not a constructive interaction, IMHO.
I wasn’t that aggressive, don’t worry. There was lots of chit chat beforehand and he did laugh when I said I wasn’t happy with him.
If someone put up cameras that were directed toward my property, I’d call my lawyer.
Go outside and take a few pics from different angles and distances that will indicate the position of the camera in relation to the building where it’s attached.
If that camera is 360 or near -360, then he will likely move/adjust it before showing you any footage.
I’d tread carefully here. You say the guy has guns, and uses them to shoot. Also that he’s angry enough, sometimes, to shout at his wife loudly. Doesn’t sound wonderful to me as someone to have to interact with.
Is there something that is legitimate that the cameras might be “protecting”, even if its an after the fact way to identify thieves or vandals? Hard to tell without seeing the situation and knowing the person better.
I think asking to see an example of the camera feed isn’t unreasonable (although maybe there isn’t one if the camera just records onto a memory card in a continuous loop. He’s saying that the camera can’t see the areas that are concerning you, and it seems reasonable to verity that just to give you some peace of mind.
They also make “dummy cameras” that are just for show/deterrance, and actually don’t work. If its one of those, its important for people not to know that. That might explain an evasiveness over where the feed/monitoring was.
Exactly @dadx . OP may also want to check laws in their community because it is not necessarily against the law to videotape , only audio recordings .
the cameras are wrong,(IMO)but, making enemies with your neighbor (who you describe as a real “winner”) is not a good idea. I might let it slide.
p.s. my life rule number 4330303…never live in a condo or homeowners association!
Actually, living with an HOA does have some advantages. They are necessary for condo living with so many public areas (I complained about that couple who put tacky lawn ornaments out when the bylaws did not allow them at our vacation one a long time ago). Currently it is helpful to have rules to keep the neighborhood from deteriorating. We did read the rules and can live by them. Decades ago I discarded a lot because of rules I disliked, such as no privacy fences. It sure is nice to have the community center, parks and pool here.
Rules are meant to be broken…
This situation reminded me of a movie…
Around here, the HOA board members tend to field complaints from people who want the HOA to deal with their gripe with a neighbor rather than dealing with their neighbor themselves.
I’ve served on several HOA boards over the past 20 years , and I can assure you it is a thankless job. I’ve had to field complaints about various things not even included in the covenants that neighbors believed were or should’ve been in the covenants . Most larger HOAs have a management company that does regular rounds of the neighborhood to ensure that covenants are being followed . It is not the board members looking for violations in many cases. I have had people show up at my door late at night to complain . You wouldn’t believe the tirades left on my answering machine. Many people don’t realize that there is a process involved to add or revoke covenants , and when I would try explain the process which is clearly documented in the covenants that they signed when they closed on their homes , they become irate because they never read them or thought they they were easily changed. Not every neighborhood is right for every person. Some people value more autonomy than some neighborhoods provide. Others like the protection that covenants provide. That’s why it’s important to read the covenants closely prior to purchasing a home.
Here is an extreme example of HOA complaints that I’ve experienced. One of my neighbors put a fence on his property which was in compliance with the covenants and had been approved by the architectural review board. His next door neighbor was furious because it blocked part of the view of a small pond behind her house. She was angry that it had been approved and wanted it removed immediately. It was not removed .The feud which lasted over a year finally ended when her husband who was having a GI bleed on her living room floor died because she was too stubborn to go next door to ask for assistance from her neighbor who happened to be an internal medicine physician.
Holy cow! My parents had some Design Review Board trouble. They planted some pine seedlings. I’m not sure the variety but it was a smaller tree, not even a Douglas fir, certainly not a giant Sequoia. Neighbor complained for months to the DRB saying it was a “living fence” (2 seedlings) and would “interrupt his view of the sunset in 20 years”.
My Dad had to move one seedling and remove the other. They moved entirely a couple of years later! HOAs can do a good job but they have to watch out for neighbors who are crazy or just use them to cause trouble. These crazy neighbors persisted for a few rotations of people in and out of the DRB. Eventually, someone listened to them or just wanted them to shut up so they gave them what they wanted. Bad idea.
We live in a neighborhood with a mandatory HOA (our last neighborhood was HOA optional). It’s necessary in this neighborhood because we have a guarded gated entry, a beautiful pond with fountain and walking trail, and a separate workout facility. All of this costs money, and you can’t make something like that optional, or people wouldn’t pull their weight. The HOA also handles our front landscaping.
There is an architectural review committee, but since we bought our house already built, we haven’t run up against the HOA in any manner. So far so good.
I was an HOA board member for several years. Although it depends on state law and/or how your governing documents are written (Bylaws), one of the things I found misunderstood by homeowners is the difference between Officers and Board members. Because of homeowner apathy a homeowner often will wear two hats and serve as both an Officer and Board member. However, the President’s (officer) main function is to typically run Board meetings, and they often have very limited, if any, authority to make HOA decisions or spend HOA money. He/she is NOT the President of the Board. I’d guess there is no such a position in your governing documents. Homeowners tend to believe the President has an “S” on his/her chest and has unlimited authority. My point is your President may be a Board member as well, but that only means he/she has one vote equal to other Board members. Typically only Board members can make decisions by majority vote at a Board/homeowners meetings with the Board/homeowners quorums stated in governing documents. Decisions made by Board members with less than a quorum (eg 2 out of 5 members talking on phone, having coffee at Starbucks, etc) are usually not valid. You should have right to see minutes of Board meeting and how the Board members voted on issues, unless your state’s laws allow Board members to meet in private. I’d start by reading your Bylaws to see what authority Officers have, and also ask for a copy of minutes. If the decision was made by Board members at a Board/homeowners meeting that was held according to your governing documents, I’d attend next meeting and raise your concerns in a friendly matter as no matter what, you live near or next to these people. If they stand by their decision, run for seat in the next Board election. Good luck.
Even if OP should run, if the decision regarding the camera was made within the guidelines of the covenants , she may have little recourse than to request another vote with quorum to request the cameras come down.
@carolinamom2boys: on the one hand maybe with a better understanding of problems camera has created via evidence such as photos, drawings, etc, Board would change its decision if approached at a meeting in friendly manner. But on the other hand if decision was by say a 2-1, 3-2 vote, then OP’s vote as new Board member and the camera comes down. It’s just like what will probably happen with several 5-4 Supreme Court decisions in the next few years.