OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — The Johnson County COVID-19 task force is creating a plan to determine when certain businesses should reopen once Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly reopens the state.
One gym owner is fighting to have the task force rethink the categories and how businesses are being divided up. Patrick Copley owns Club Pilates, which has a location in Overland Park. He said the current recommendation puts his business at an unfair advantage.
"What they have done is they've lumped all gyms, all fitness centers, together and deemed that we should all be quote phase three businesses," Copley said.
The current plan, still being debated by the task force, includes different phasesfor different businesses to reopen. Phase 1 allows restaurants, hair salons and nail salons to slowly reopen, with some guidelines. Gyms are not allowed to reopen until Phase 3.
Copley told 41 Action News he fits all of the Phase 1 requirements, including social distancing, with how he has the workstations placed and the number of attendees he will allow inside the building for each class.
"Boutique fitness studios, like this, that are not big box gyms, should be treated differently," Copley said. "I know that it's not feasible to be going out to every single different studio, every single different gym, but it's really simple to categorize us separate from the big box gyms. And if you do that, we meet all the Phase 1 criteria."
Copley said he emailed one Johnson County commissioner to talk about the issue. He is hoping for a change to the policy, so he doesn't have to wait until mid-June before he can reopen.
