The Displaced Camp Venice Homeowners

 How  do you tell the story of having your home threatened with removal—at  the drop of a hat? Well, we will start at the beginning of our life at  Camp Venice.

In  2009 we purchased a new motorhome during the Great Recession when Sandy  lost her job a year before her planned 62 year old retirement. We  started camping at then-named Camp Venice Retreat (CVR) in January 2011,  returning to Michigan in April. The next winter we stayed at CVR for  four months and decided to sell our Michigan home for cost effectiveness  and live in our motorhome full-time. This meant we spent the entire  winter at CVR. In early 2016, a park model came up for sale, so we  bought it and sold the motorhome. Since then, we’ve lived at this  campground six months each year.

We  owned property in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula where we lived in the  motorhome during the remaining six month. We bought a destination  trailer and had it set up permanently on this property when the  motorhome sold. It is not an insulated trailer, so it’s only suitable  for summer and early fall weather. Thus, our park model at CVR filled  our housing needs November through April.

All  was well and fine until Camp Venice Retreat was in a forced sale which  we park model owners and campers became aware of in late December 2019.  Sarasota County attempted to purchase CVR in early 2020 and numerous CVR  residents attended a Sarasota County Board meeting on January 9, 2020.  Several of us spoke at that meeting about keeping the campground open,  especially since several park model owners lived at CVR full time.  Nicole Rissler was aware of this fact.The County could not meet the  owners’ price. At that time, we were told that Sarasota County was  unable to spend more than the campground’s assessed value.

After  this potential sale failed, all campers and park model owners were  informed by Camp Venice Retreat that the campground would close on April  1, 2020, unless a buyer could be found. Before this deadline, the Court  decreed that CVR could remain open until a buyer was found. By keeping  the campground open, all permits would remain in place, making Camp  Venice Retreat more salable. 

In  late summer of 2020, Robert Kurens purchased CVR and renamed it Camp  Venice RV Resort LLC. During our residency in our park model, CVR only  charged those of us who resided there part-time six months’ rent instead  of 12 months. Permanent park model residents paid an annual rent rate.  Mr. Kurens started charging ALL park model owners rent for a full 12  months, no matter how short or long we resided in our park models. Our  first such lease, copy attached, dated December 3, 2020, is titled  Annual Lease for 2021.

Fast  forward to April 4, 2025, when the Sarasota Herald-Tribune ran an  extensive article about the County’s renovation plans for Snook Haven.  Imbedded in this long news piece was this information: “The county is  negotiating on the purchase of the Camp Venice RV Resort immediately  south of Snook Haven for more riverfront. On the drive along East Venice  Avenue, visitors travel under a canopy of oak trees draped in Spanish  moss. County has not revealed its immediate plans for the campgrounds.”

Several  of us inquired of the office staff about this newspaper article, but we  were told they weren’t aware of anything. The next day, residents  received a letter, copy attached, denying this from Camp Venice LLC.  Sandy emailed Nicole Rissler, who confirmed the County WAS in  negotiations to buy Camp Venice.

Then  on May 5, 2025, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune ran an article  sub-headlined: The Property, along the Myakka River, will remain a  campground, referring to the County’s anticipated purchase of Camp  Venice RV Resort LLC. This article, copy attached, stated the County has  until August 24 to complete an evaluation within 30 days of when the  seller, Camp Venice LLC, delivers written notice that the park models  have been removed…

      Once again, we park model owners received no word from the owner  regarding this bombshell. The County approved the sale on May 6. On May  8, Sandy went to the office to inquire when we would learn the fate of  our park models, and the staffer said she had no idea. Sandy asked the  staffer to call the owner, which she said she could not do. Next Sandy  asked her to call Ann Moreland, the Manager, and staffer told her that  she could “probably do that in the afternoon.” Then the staffer said,  “Well, the owner wasn’t expecting the information about the park models  needing to be removed to be in the newspaper.” REALLY! If the reveal had  not been in the Herald-Tribune, just when was Mr. Kurens intending to  tell us annual lease holders? Probably 30 days after the sale was  consummated, leaving all of us blindsided.

      Continuing along, Sandy and several others were emailing Camp Venice  LLC to demand some answers. Finally, on May 20, the owner sent park  model owners the letter, copy attached, containing information not  included in our annual leases.

      Because of the lack of information and truth-telling, we had no  recourse but to find a place to live in the Venice area where we’ve  resided for 15 years and would need to live in late October. We canceled  five medical appointments in Michigan in order to find a place, as well  as to rid ourselves of our park model, knowing it would have to be  removed. We looked at seven homes in three days, putting in an offer on  one which was accepted, and began moving our belongings from the park  model. We placed an ad on Marketplace, offering to sell our place for  $4,000 due to the high expense a buyer would incur moving it offsite.  That process was dragging on with no guaranteed success of a sale, so we  felt forced to offer our park model to Camp Venice LLC on May 21in lieu  of the remaining $7,700 on our annual lease that CV indicated we owed  in their May 20 letter. Ann Moreland accepted per copy attached.

      During the four-plus years Mr. Kurens has owned CV, we’ve never met  nor talked with him. His Manager, Ann Moreland, has harassed most  everyone who camped at Camp Venice, but she particularly harassed the  park model owners for so-called infractions that were not in our annual  leases nor in the published list of rules. We, CV’s guests, were treated  very horribly, walking on eggs because of Ms. Moreland’s intimidation  and constant threats of eviction. If you do an online review of Camp  Venice LLC or Mr. Kuren’s sister campground in Venice, Myakka River RV  Resort, you can learn much about her “management style” and lack of  business ethics.

      We had decorated and updated our park model into a comfortable, safe  living environment that we had intended to remain in indefinitely, thus  the decision to walk away with nothing was painful. We cannot adequately  express the duress, stress and strain that Mr. Kurens has inflicted  upon our psyches and marriage. We are not wealthy people. The need to be  out from under our park model forced us to buy a small home in a  retirement community of 1,300 homes where we’ve checked into ownership  to be sure they don’t operate their business as does Mr. Kurens. Since  we received no money for our park model, we tapped into our small  retirement fund out of necessity.

      Back to our need to vacate CV, we are 76 and 78 years old with health  issues and cannot handle this stress any longer—the unknowns have kept  us awake at night and ruined our waking hours. Mike has the first of  several medical appointments on June 3 in Michigan as does Sandy, so  we’re leaving in time for those. What we’re not leaving behind is this  nightmare that Mr. Kurens has put us through these past two months. This  nightmare, unfortunately, won’t just float away.

Mike & Sandy K