“We’re starting with a fresh, clean slate.”
~ River Camp RV Park Owner Mike Picore
MEEKER | The River Camp RV Park, just southeast of Meeker, is under new ownership again. The new owners — business partners Michael Picore, Ted Gallegos and Ryan Parker — purchased the historic Hugus Building downtown last year.
Joining them as owners of the River Camp RV Park are Jennifer and Stephen VanDyke. Jennifer is the daughter of Jim and Debbie Cook of Meeker and a broker at The Property Shop in Glenwood Springs. VanDyke said she is excited to own a piece of property in her hometown and looks forward to being more involved and active in the community.
Picore said there’s been “a lot of activity” with the Hugus Building in the last year, from tenants coming and going to the maintenance challenges of owning a 100-plus-year-old building. “We really weren’t looking for an RV park,” he said, but when Meeker Chamber Director Stephanie Kobald reached out, the park presented an opportunity they didn’t want to pass up.
The previous owner group was a property management firm from Utah. Sky Homes LLC purchased the property in 2021 from owners Walt Brown and Boots Campbell. Brown established the park in the late 1990s during an oil and gas boom. When the boom subsided, the RV camp remained with 20 spacious lots along the White River.
Camp managers Amy Sanger and James Ledford landed at the RV camp five years ago.
Colorado natives, Sanger said they came to Meeker to visit their oldest daughter and stayed at the River Camp RV Park. They liked it so much that they just stayed, and Brown hired them as managers.
When Brown decided to sell the property, Sanger and Ledford tried to buy it, but their financing fell through unexpectedly. Brown sold to Sky Homes in 2021, and Sanger and Ledford stayed on as managers and continued to try to get financing, going under contract with Sky Homes LLC.
By December 2021, amid interpersonal conflicts and reports of missing payments, Sky Homes LLC issued eviction notices for tenants to relocate in January.
Sanger, whose financing had fallen through again, reached out to Kobald, who contacted Picore as a potential investor.
Once the property was under contract, VanDyke said they negotiated an agreement for no evictions as part of the purchase contract in order to protect the existing tenants from having to relocate in the middle of winter.
Picore said they are aware of the reported issues and are determined to be “a lot more stringent” to prevent similar problems going forward. VanDyke said they investigated various comments and interviewed tenants.
“We think the intention was good, overall. They were trying to do the right thing. We’re going to put in controls to make sure those issues aren’t issues,” she said.
Sanger and Ledford will stay on as camp managers and hosts. “We’re starting with a fresh, clean slate and we need managers. They’re there and we’re giving them a shot,” Picore said.
For tenants, one of the changes coming is a rent increase to bring prices more in line with market averages. Until now, rent has been set at $16/day, or $500 a month. In May that will increase to $50 a day from May through November.
“We realize housing is an issue, but it can’t be $16 a day,” Picore said. Several existing tenants have indicated they’re seeking more permanent options.
The new owners will also require tenants to find other places to store “accumulated stuff” like extra trailers and cars. “When you drive by, is it a storage yard or an RV park?” Picore said. “It’s not a storage yard.”
Sanger said they are excited to have local owners in place and happy necessary maintenance projects are going on the calendar. “It’s just going to be healthier,” she said.
As managers, they plan to continue some of the popular projects they’ve implemented, including fly casting seminars in conjunction with Backcountry Outpost, working with 4-H kids, and Saturday night steak nights with live music. “This place has a really good vibe,” Sanger said. “People come here and they love it.”
You can learn more by calling 970-404-1338 or visit riverccamprvpark.com
By NIKI TURNER – editor@editorht1885.com