Another Team Fitness location closes

While the writing may have been on the wall since the pool closed at Stanwood Team Fitness in April, last Monday evening, it appeared on the locked front doors.

Owner Mike Liberato said his partnership with landlord Brett Olson has deteriorated, forcing him to close the location. Liberato runs two other Team Fitness locations in Lake Stevens and Snohomish.

Olson said the closure was “nobody’s fault.”

He plans to renovate the gym area and have the facility open this summer.

The building owner met with contractors on Monday to discuss solutions for expansion and envisions a new company running the business.

Once the facility is cleaned up and renovated, Olson said he is looking to provide “stability and professionalism, which was lacking in the past.”

“We’re working around the clock to get the right fix,” he said. “This is a big situation that has affected many people.”

Liberato said he brought his business to Stanwood with good intentions.

“I’ve committed my life to making people healthy,” he said.

What resulted, a closure of the downtown location, the fate of the dilapidated pool and ensuing uptown closure, stemmed from a lack of communication and compromise, said Liberato.

“I lived up to my side of the deal,” he said. In the end, “I felt unable to operate a successful business under the circumstances.”

The lease agreement with the landlord changed, said Liberato, and decisions to close the downtown facility and the pool were made exclusively by Olson.

“I was contacted after-thefact,” Liberato said.

Liberato said attempts to refund existing pool memberships essentially put him out of business.

The “horrible situation” was compounding, he said.

Upon advice from his attorney, he shut down the Stanwood operation.

Stanwood memberships will be honored at other Team Fitness locations, but Liberato said he is unable to provide refunds.

Lisa McCammond of Camano Island is worried her “prom- ised refund” for the yearlong pool membership purchased in February is lost.A

fter the pool closed last month, McCammond said she contacted Team Fitness and was assured a refund of more than $1,000.

A week prior to the closure, she said she called again and was told the refund check was not available.

“I’m beside myself,” said McCammond. “I trusted them with my membership.”

Olson said he was confident people would give another athletic club a chance but gaining membership may be an “uphill climb.”

He also expressed concerned with the loss of jobs in the community.

“It’s something that I take seriously,” he said.

Liberato praised his former employees at the Stanwood location. He was able to shift five people into spots at the gyms in Lake Stevens and Snohomish.

He said payroll expenses for the month of May are covered.

While plans are already in the works to reopen a gym under new ownership, the future of the pool remains unclear.

Local swimming groups, including the Stanwood High School Spartans and the Steelhead Swim Team, have formed the nonprofit group Stanwood-Camano Swimming Foundation to negotiate use of the pool.

Olson met with the group recently to discuss getting the pool operational.

“We are trying to come to a mutual resolution,” he said, “but there are no guarantees.”

Staff Reporter Adam Stewart: 629-8066 ext. 115 or astewart@scnews.com.

Action Pages