Posted 12:04 pm Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Send to Kindle
Apple Swim & Fitness club shuts down with little notice
|
Apple Swim & Fitness in Tyler has been forcibly shut down, and pool members of the physical fitness club reportedly were not notified.
Apple Swim & Fitness, 5113 Timber Creek Drive, is a full-service physical fitness club with adult fitness programs and classes, as well as summer recreational and educational swim programs.
Elizabeth Neff, public relations officer for Salt Lake City-based Zions First National Bank, confirmed the bank repossessed the property on July 3, but she would not comment further.
A man picking up his things from the facility Tuesday said he worked at the reception desk there as a summer job.
He did not want to give his name to the Tyler Morning Telegraph but said employees were told the facility would be shutting down Aug. 31. However, when he showed up for work Aug. 6, the notice to vacate letter was posted on the door, he said.
Apple Swim & Fitness manager Tara McSwain employed three workers at the front desk and five to six lifeguards, he added.
Apple Swim & Fitness manager Tara McSwain employed three workers at the front desk and five to six lifeguards, he added.
A "Notice and Demand to Vacate" letter, dated Aug. 3 and addressed to Dawson Lee LLC, with attention to Ms. McSwain, was posted on the facility's front door.
Ms. McSwain, 38, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
She pleaded guilty July 31 to two counts of fraudulent possession of a controlled substance for using forged prescriptions. She was arrested in June 2011, and charged with nine counts of fraudulent possession of a controlled substance or prescription.
She pleaded guilty to two of the charges and will be sentenced Sept. 4 by 7th District Judge Kerry Russell. She faces up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine for the third-degree felonies. According to the Smith County Judicial website, she has been out of jail on bond since July 1, 2011.
Ms. McSwain posted on the Apple Swim & Fitness Facebook page on July 17, announcing memberships to the pool had been pro-rated for the rest of the summer. Rates included $78 for a single, $124 for a couple and $218 for a family, according to the post.
Jennifer Sims said Monday her husband took their children out for a swim and saw the notice to vacate sign posted on the door. She said it had been two or three weeks since they last went there and had been pool members of Apple Swim & Fitness for two years. She said they were not notified it was shutting down.
The property was marked with overgrown weeds, and the pool's water was green.
"This is a formal notice and demand that you and all your agents, employees and representatives vacate the property within three days of the date of this notice," the notice to vacate letter states. If failure to vacate within three days, Zions First National Bank intends to institute a forcible detainer, commonly known as an eviction, and take legal steps to have all persons removed from the property, the notice reads.
By foreclosure sale deed dated July 3, Zions First National Bank became owner of the property, which to the best actual knowledge of the bank, has been used by Dawson Lee LLC, solely for commercial purposes, the note states.
Attorney for Zions First National Bank, Lee Kirner, of Cantley and Hanger LLP in Dallas, did not return calls for comment.
Posted underneath the Apple Swim & Fitness sign at the property's entrance off Timber Creek was a second notice, dated July 31, by the City of Tyler citing a violation of City Code of Ordinance, Article II. The violation is for uncultivated vegetation and/or illegal accumulations of weeds and debris and stated that if not corrected, will be corrected by the city at the owner's expense. The notice states that high weeds next to the tennis courts and along the fences of properties along Avenham Court be cut.
According to the Smith County Appraisal District records, the property is owned by Dawson Lee LLC and the company's address matches Ms. McSwain's home address listed on Smith County Judicial website.
The property was built in 1981, and the certified 2012 market value of the 5.76-acre property is $824,178, Smith County Appraisal District records show.
