WILMINGTON, NC -- The Port City Health Club & Spa in Wilmington, NC, closed unexpectedly last week, but members might be able to receive refunds through an insurance bond of $250,000 that the business set aside.

The office of North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper received several calls from members, and the office encouraged those members to file written complaints, says Noelle Talley, the office’s public information officer.

“The club is bonded as required by law, and that money could be used for refunds if necessary,” Talley says.

Judi Nickels, president of Port City Health Club & Spa, told the Wilmington Star-News that she is trying to find new owners in order for members to continue going to the same location. The club has also ceased taking automatic bank drafts for membership fees, she said.

Nickels’ husband, Charles, ran the club as operating manager and treasurer. Judi Nickels told the newspaper that the club's closure came as a surprise to her.

“The operation of the gym was happening through my husband,” Judi Nickels said from her Massachusetts home. “He’s disappeared, and I can’t comment on where he is or what he’s doing.”

The Wilmington YMCA will offer a free 60-day trial membership to any Port City Health Club member, the newspaper reported.

Port City Health Club & Spa is in the same location formerly occupied by Peak Fitness, which also unexpectedly closed in February 2008. Peak Fitness recently agreed to a court-approved consent judgment with Attorney General Cooper’s office to give refunds to members who asked for their money back after their gym closed.

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