Sale to Sherkston ‘hard to swallow’ for campground residents

Life was good at Pleasant Beach Campground.

The proximity to the beach, and quiet, tree-filled grounds, held great appeal for residents. But most of all, the regulars at the park got to know each other with some relationships spanning decades.

All that ended around Easter when residents received an email from Sun Communities, owners of Sherkston Shores, located west of Pleasant Beach, informing them that Sun had purchased the park.

In that email, attributed to Sun Communities regional vice-president Tony Breton, residents were told: Everything you love about the property will remain, and in addition, your resort experience will now include access to some of Sherkston Shores resort amenities."

One resident was especially irked.

Sherkston, they've always had an eye on this property," said George Boboros, who, along with his family, has spent the past 21 summers at Pleasant Beach, making improvements to their trailer over the years including last year's addition of an outdoor bar to the trailer's covered - and expansive - deck.

This is hard to swallow," he said.

Boboros said residents were always told by the campground's previous owners, Kurt and Tami Pederson, that they were here for the long haul," but with the sale, residents now feel they were sold a bill of goods. Since the sale, many residents have simply walked away" from their trailers, not having the means to move, or a location they could be moved to.

After last season, we had no contact with the owners," Boboros said. We heard nothing for months."

Like Boboros, Jenny Gregory and her family have spent summers at the park for years, were told they would have to decide what they were going to do by Oct. 30. They decided to leave rather than pay increased fees to the new owners that she claimed would be nearly triple" their current annual payment of $3,400.

Kurt and Tami told us it was a family business," Gregory said. We bought a trailer, upgraded my mom's deck and we bought a golf cart at the end of last season."

She also said the Pedersons, who usually kept in touch with residents, fell silent.

There was no communication with the owners for the past year," she said.

The biggest concern is that fees will go up substantially under the new ownership, Gregory said.

Her family was left hurt by the experience, particularly her children.

The kids were devastated," she said. It's been extremely stressful."

The Pedersons dispute the claims being made by the residents. Kurt Pederson said residents were informed shortly after the sale in February.

Furthermore, he and Tami made numerous investments in the park since taking over in 2016, Kurt said, including hundreds of thousands of dollars" improving the park's electrical system. Things came to a head when they were faced with having to replace the park's septic system. Standards set by the Ministry of Environment, governing things such as setbacks, meant a reduction in the number of sites, combined with a cost of close to $1 million for ministry-required upgrades - it was too much.

Kurt said the decision came down to a matter of dollars and cents," like most business decisions.

The Pedersons stressed that it was Sun Communities which approached them and not the other way around. And the silence around the talks was nothing unusual.

If we'd have had offers in previous years, would we be talking about it? No." Kurt said.

In an emailed statement to The Leader, Tony Breton, Sun Communities' Regional Vice-President -- Canadian Operations, said changes are being made, but that they would not affect current residents at Pleasant Beach.

We plan on improving the infrastructure and overall experience for guests and vacation homeowners," Breton said. We have no plans to build additional RV sites that would impact current space for guests."

THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Residents at Pleasant Beach Campground in Port Colborne are angry. They say they weren't informed the park was up for sale as they invested money and labour into improving their trailers. The former owners, meanwhile, contend that they told residents about the change in ownership shortly after the sale in February. The Port Colborne Leader wanted to look at the impact the sale has had on residents.

CORRECTION (June 7, 2021) -- Story has been updated to correct the length of time the Gregory family had spent the summer season at Pleasant Beach Campground.