City of Sheboygan shuts down Bounce Trampoline Park
The South Pier District attraction opened just weeks ago
SHEBOYGAN — In a stunning turn of events, the City of Sheboygan has forced a small business in the South Pier District to shut their doors.
Bounce Trampoline Park, located at 802 Blue Harbor Drive, had opened to much fanfare on June 1st. "It is with extreme disappointment that we write this post to let you know that we are temporarily closing," wrote owners Courtney and CJ Rhoades in a letter posted Thursday night on Facebook. "The local city government, specifically the Planning and Development office has given us moving targets for months now, just to let us know that the solutions we provided and the updates we've made are not good enough."
CLICK HERE: Read the full letter from Bounce Trampoline Park
According to the owners, city officials they met with in 2024 suggested they move into the long vacant building at 802 Blue Harbor Drive. But somehow, the city was unaware previous building tenants had made modifications despite multiple fire inspections. The grand opening for Bounce Trampoline was originally scheduled for May 17th but was postposed. They cited “a few unforeseen circumstances” as the reason for the delay on May 9th in a Facebook post. Behind the scenes, they were meeting with inspectors.
The city’s Director of Planning & Development, 26-year-old Taylor Zeinert, apparently went to the building at some point and issued the occupancy violation herself. That’s unusual given the city has several inspectors that are tasked with such inspections. Zeinert was appointed to her role in April after spending just 16 months as the Economic Development Director for the City of Whitewater. Prior to that, she served nine months as the city's Chief of Staff, where she was essentially an administrative assistant.
RELATED: Music venue proposal dropped for Sheboygan's South Pier District
According to documents obtained by WKTS News, a $691 fine would be issued every day Bounce Trampoline was open beginning on May 30th. The fines have totaled over $40,000 according to the owners. It is unclear who will be responsible for paying the fines. It is also unclear when or if Bounce Trampoline will reopen for business.
Bounce Trampoline Park actually leases the building from millionaire businessman and auto racing magnate Gerald R. Forsythe, the owner of Blue Harbor Resort.
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