A Lawrence fitness center will close later this month and transfer the memberships of its approximately 600 users to another health club, leaving some members feeling shortchanged.

Managers of Sixth Street Fitness, 2500 W. Sixth St., began telling customers Wednesday the center would close May 18. Club members also were told a deal had been reached for them to become members of Total Fitness Athletic Center, 2339 Iowa St.

Sixth Street Fitness owner Don Booth said personal issues led to the decision to close the business. He and his wife, Susan Booth, will focus on their other business, New Horizons Tae Kwon Do.

Booth, who owned the fitness center for seven years, said users of Sixth Street Fitness would be taken care of because Total Fitness had purchased the memberships of Sixth Street Fitness users and would honor each contract.

“The contracts everybody signed will be honored in their entirety and their rates will not go up,” Booth said. “They’ll pay the same amount they were paying us.”

Not all members were satisfied with the arrangement. Crystal Swearingen, a Sixth Street Fitness member who pre-paid $420 for a one-year membership, said she was not interested in using Total Fitness but was told she couldn’t get out of her contract.

“One of the reasons I chose Sixth Street Fitness was because of its location,” Swearingen said.

“It’s convenient for me and Total Fitness isn’t. I just think when something like this happens they should give our money back or give us more options.”

Total Fitness owner Marty Tuley said his business “generally” would not allow Sixth Street Fitness customers to break contracts. He said he didn’t think the 2.5 miles between the two clubs was an excessive distance for customers to travel.

“I live near Sixth Street Fitness and drive here every day, and it only takes four or five minutes during a morning,” Tuley said.

Swearingen said she intended to file a complaint with the Kansas Attorney General’s Office. Mark Ohlemeier of the attorney general’s consumer protection division said whether consumers would be entitled to break their contracts would depend on the specifics of the contract, but he urged people to file a complaint with the office if they felt they were being treated unfairly.