Annie’s Campground placed in receivership

Shawano County Circuit Court Judge Katherine Sloma is scheduled to hear a motion July 11 to auction off the assets of Annie’s Campground, LLC in the Town of Seneca.

Seth E. Dizard, who was appointed receiver of the property in May, filed the motion June 27 to “to sell substantially all of the debtor’s assets pursuant to auction terms and procedures, free and clear of all liens, claims, leasehold interests and encumbrances.”

The campground is owned by Ann Retzlaff, who has filed a number of handwritten documents objecting to the process from the Shawano County Jail. She is being held there pending various charges related to a vehicle chase through Shawano and Menominee counties and her subsequent failure to appear at court hearings.

In one of those documents, filed June 19, Retzlaff asserts the receivership process violates her constitutionally protected rights against unreasonable search and seizure, and that the proceedings have been held without her being able to attend.

“De facto court was held without the clerk of court calling me out of my false imprisonment to make my special appearance and then recorded that Annie’s Campground was not there,” Retzlaff wrote. “The clerk of courts/Shawano County controls all my movements and knows where I am.”

Online court minutes indicate that mortgage holder Bank First filed to have the property placed in receivership and Dizard was appointed May 5. Hearings were held May 25 and June 13; at the first hearing, the minutes say “no attorney appeared for the LLC,” and Dizard is listed as representing Annie’s Campground at both hearings.

Dizard filed an interim report June 10 stating that as of April 25, Annie’s Campground owed Bank First a total of $1,458,394.73, not including attorney fees and collection costs.

Bank First asked for the receivership arguing that “Annie’s Campground is insolvent or in imminent danger of insolvency and was concerned about the operation of the campground due to Ms. Retzlaff’s incarceration and hostile encounters with police and government officials,” Dizard wrote.

The state departments of Revenue and Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) were days away from ordering the campground closed for lack of a seller’s permit and three failed inspections. Also, the Town of Seneca informed Dizard’s manager that the campground’s alcohol beverage license was in danger of non-renewal for failure to pay property taxes in 2020 and 2021.

Dizard reported that he obtained extensions from the two state agencies to remedy the violations and remain open, and he paid past-due property taxes of more than $25,000 and applied to renew the liquor license. He also hired a vendor to maintain and treat the ponds at the campground, and he paid past-due invoices to restore phone and internet services that had been disconnected.

“The appointment of a receiver of Annie’s Campground came not a moment too soon,” Dizard wrote, saying he and his manager “have stabilized operations, remedied numerous violations that affect the health and safety of the campground, and prepared the campground for the summer season of camping. Seasonal campers have been cooperative and excited about the work being performed on the campground.”

For her part, Retzlaff maintained that many monetary issues are the result of illegal actions against her by authorities.

“Due to the negative publicity I have received the past two years and continued law enforcement harassment, my customers have chosen not to pay their invoices,” she wrote in a June 3 petition to dismiss the case, blaming the failure to pay “primarily due to the defamation of character from our biased local, state and even national press. Why? All I have done was stand up for my rights and protect myself, my family, my property, my staff, my customers.”

Retzlaff said she is being “harassed, stalked, falsely accused, falsely imprisoned” because she went to the aid of one of her employees, whom she said called for a ride to get away from a place where sex trafficking and drug trafficking was reportedly occurring.

Assuming the motion to sell off the campground assets is approved, Sloma has scheduled a hearing for Aug. 23 to confirm the sale.

wbluhm@newmedia-wi.com