No-frills gyms at odds with city of St. Paul

When Elizabeth Danks goes to the gym at 6 a.m., she holds an electronic device on her key ring up to the locked door and waits for the click that tells her she can go inside.

The 26-year-old St. Paul resident might be the only person in the Anytime Fitness club at that time. She's fine with that, but St. Paul isn't.

It's fine if people want to work out in the middle of the night, but someone who knows CPR needs to be in the health club as a matter of safety, the city says.

The franchise owners of two Anytime clubs in St. Paul have gone to court to argue that they meet the city licensing standard. The city is attempting to fine the two clubs $500 each. St. Paul seems to be the only city in 45 states where Anytime has clubs that has this requirement.

Anytime Fitness is among a fast-growing breed of no-frills, 24-hour gyms that offers weights and cardio equipment but no saunas or racquetball. These types of storefront gyms -- generally located in small shopping centers -- aren't always staffed, which helps to keep costs down.

Danks said she was sold quickly on the convenience and affordable price of Anytime. "I don't need all the fancy stuff the big clubs have," she said.

"I'm having trouble understanding why St. Paul is standing alone in its objection to the way we're doing business," said Mark Daly, national media director for Anytime's corporate operation.

"We want to work with the city of St. Paul to come to a solution."

Anytime is based in Hastings and has more than 700 clubs open across the country and 100 in Minnesota. Rival Snap Fitness, based in Chanhassen, has about 130 clubs in the state and more than 700 locations operating in the United States and Canada. Costs can vary from club to club, but an average membership for one person is between $35 and $40 and about $15 more to add another person in a household.

Not many municipalities regulate sports and health clubs, said Bill Gunther, environmental health manager for St. Paul's Department of Safety and Inspections. St. Paul got into it decades ago to fight storefront prostitution posing as massage parlors or health clubs, but city officials say that public health is the main concern. The code was amended in 1992 to include the CPR certification.

Gunther points to the example of someone having a heart attack on a treadmill. Time is of the essence in treating a victim, he said, and if there's nobody watching the gym there's no guarantee help will come quickly enough.

Safety, security top priorities

But the gym owners say that safety and security are their top priorities and that they have precautions in place: cameras that have the capability of being monitored remotely, panic buttons on the walls and panic buttons on necklaces. Doors have an "anti-tailgating" system that lets club employees know if more than two people enter at one time.

"There's always a risk when you get physically active," said Ryan Manning, who owns the Anytime club in Highland Park that is in opposition to the city. "A person is safer working out in our club than their own house. We're providing a healthy, active alternative for people who don't otherwise have that." Jason Wittwer, who owns the East Side club also at odds with the city, declined to comment.

Ben Cowan, who owns Snap Fitness clubs in Cottage Grove and Golden Valley and the rights to open three clubs in St. Paul, says his clubs offer equipment training and full health assessments to members before they start working out so red flags are pointed out before exercising begins.

Cowan has plunked down thousands of dollars to buy rights but hasn't opened up yet. "I think it's a ridiculous ordinance," he said. He has been lobbying hard to get the code changed, but City Council members aren't biting.

'A bad idea,' city says

"I just think it's a bad idea," said Council Member Dave Thune, who fought the "scourge" of massage parlors for years. He said that these kinds of gyms don't benefit the city with more jobs and that the lack of staffing can encourage illicit activity. "Public safety is our business."

The owners say staffing their clubs 24 hours a day would force them out of business because their financial model is based on light staffing. Plus, they say, they are in compliance with the city's code.

"The code regarding fitness clubs doesn't require an employee to be on the premises, it requires someone to be on duty," Daly said.

Indeed, the language in the code says a CPR-certified employee or manager "shall be on duty at all times that the licensed premises are in operation or open to members of the public."

Gunther doesn't buy that argument because he said the owners were given a letter telling them of the expectation to have someone present during business hours.

An administrative law judge gets to determine what "on duty" means. A ruling is likely in the next several weeks.

"They say it's unreasonable. It's a law, and we can't give you permission to break the law," Gunther said. Of course, he said, things can always be worked out.

Chris Havens • 651-298-1542