Yolo County fines Woodland gym which is refusing to close during coronavirus order

Yolo County officials fined a Woodland gym $2,500 last week after county enforcement staff found the gym was continuing to operate despite a mandated countywide closure because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The county fined NSFit, known until recently as Fit Republic Woodland, after a long education and warning process, according to Yolo County spokeswoman Jenny Tan. Enforcement staff found the gym operating on multiple occasions, the county said. County officials first made various attempts to contact the gym to inform them of the county’s July 13 order to close indoor businesses.

After issuing a formal letter to the business threatening action on July 17, the county issued the fine Thursday after county enforcement staff noticed people entering the business on three separate occasions. The gym is the first business to be fined in Yolo County, officials said.

“There have been at least four or five times where we’ve tried to talk to them. We’ve given them the opportunities and they went ahead and chose not to comply.” Tan said. “It wasn’t a one-and-done type of thing.”

As of Tuesday, NSFit remained open. Jeffry Helm, co-owner of the gym, wrote in an email to The Sacramento Bee that he decided to keep his business open in consideration of the economic position of his staff and because he believes fitness and health are important “not only to fight the virus but other mental and health issues.”

“We don’t believe closing business is the solution to the problem we’re facing, in fact, we believe it exacerbates the problem,” Helm wrote. “Clearly we’re not happy with the fine.”

Yolo County’s most recent July 13 closures followed California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statewide orders the same day. As one of the 29 counties on the state’s watchlist, gyms, hair salons and places of worship were required to close in Yolo County. The order came only a few weeks after businesses in the county received the go-ahead to reopen after the first round of business closures.

Yolo County announced a series of enforcement measures for its stay-at-home restrictions on July 7. A business can be fined up to $10,000 for failure to comply with restrictions. Tan told The Bee the county will consider raising the fine on NSFit if ownership fails to close the business and comply with orders. The county is also investigating other businesses that may be out of compliance.

According to the county enforcement measures, Yolo may also force businesses to close through civil action and charge businesses owners with a misdemeanor charge to enforce compliance with mandated closures.