Call it a "swim suit." The Charlottesville Area Fitness Club Owners Association—which includes the likes of ACAC, Gold’s Gym and Total Performance Sports and Fitness—filed lawsuits yesterday against both Charlottesville and Albemarle County, reports Charlottesville Tomorrow. The reason? The association feels its members were denied the chance to bid on the pool services currently slated for the much–contested McIntire Park YMCA.
According to C’ville Tomorrow, the suit alleges that the city and county violated Virginia’s Public Procurement Act. The act specifies that invitations to bid on services "may include special qualifications of potential contractors, life-cycle costing, value analysis, and any other criteria such as inspection, testing, quality, workmanship, delivery, and suitability for a particular purpose." The city reportedly asked for proposals from non-profits; the sole response came from the YMCA.
In 2007, C-VILLE wrote that ACAC owner Phil Wendel served on the board of the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, which listed opposition to "tax-exempt competition" as one of its goals at the time. Read more about IHRSA’s thoughts about tax-exempt competition here.
