Politics & Government

Buffalo Grove Officials Jump Into Trampoline Discussion

Trustees, citing safety concerns, delayed action this week on a proposal to bring a recreational trampoline business to the village.

The owner of a recreational trampoline business who hopes to open a location in Buffalo Grove didn’t exactly receive a springboard into the village this week.

Village trustees discussed for about an hour on Monday a proposal by Xtreme Trampolines to open a facility at 900 Busch Parkway. After much conversation among the officials and testimonies from the petitioner, residents and a slew of gymnastics professionals who expressed concerns about potential injuries, the board postponed voting on the proposal, instead asking its owner to return with plans for heightened safety.

The discussion followed a 6-2 vote against the business by the village’s Plan Commission, which cited concerns about patrons’ safety.

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Trustees Beverly Sussman and Andrew Stein, who visited Xtreme Trampolines’ Carol Stream facility on separate occasions, shared their experiences with the rest of the board.

Sussman expressed concerns about supervision. “I found the biggest problem was the supervision problem,” she said. “Monitors were not enforcing the rules.”

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While she said the facility appeared to be clean and odor-free during her visit, Stein said when he toured the business, “it smelled like the inside of a gym locker room.”

His bigger concerns, however, were observing patrons wearing jewelry in the facility, which is against its rules, and the business’ waiver, which states that it is not liable for staff negligence.

Eric Beck, who owns the business, emphasized that all patrons watch a safety video before bouncing, and said that he has implemented a number of precautions, including extra padding on trampoline frames, designated areas for different age groups and staff members to enforce the rules. The same standards would be in place in Buffalo Grove, where he said he hopes to introduce six trampoline courts on which patrons could bounce, play dodgeball and flip into a six-foot foam pit.

Trustee Mike Terson was the only official to voice support for the proposal as presented Monday night.

“I don’t feel it is the role of local government to make parenting decisions,” he said, asking his colleagues why Xtreme Trampolines should be subject to requirements that the village doesn’t put on other recreational businesses, such as .

“We’re comparing this recreational activity to competitive gymnastics, and personally I don’t see it that way,” he said.

Trustee Lester Ottenheimer said the trampoline facility doesn’t seem any more dangerous than other activities. His concern Monday was in regard to enforcement of rules.

“It appears that your monitoring and supervision is a little lax,” he told Beck. “We can have rules after rules … but if it’s not enforced, it’s meaningless.”

have no reservations about the business from an operational standpoint, Chief Steve Balinski said. Meanwhile, Terry Vavra noted that the Carol Stream Fire Department has responded to about three calls per month since that facility opened in late 2010, with about three-quarters of the calls in response to potentially severe injuries.

“Nothing about the facility is impossible for us to deal with. The foam pits … are just difficult to work in,” Vavra said, comparing them to swimming pools. “We’re dealing with neck or back injuries … so it becomes a little more labor intensive.”

A revised proposal from Beck will be considered at an undetermined date.


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