Former Muncie school converted to swingers club

MUNCIE -- Residents of a southwest Muncie neighborhood thought their local 110-year-old former school with purple doors had been vacant for the past 14 months.\nNeighbors were surprised to find out the building, which was last used as a bingo hall, is home to one of Indiana's seven swingers clubs.\n"I thought it was empty, to tell you the truth," Mary Neal, who rents a house across from the club, told The Star Press. "That shocks me. I'm just floored. There are a lot of kids that walk around here."\nSwinging involves having sexual intercourse with someone other than a spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend. It primarily involves couples.\nLocal religious leaders are vowing to shut down the 7,300-square-foot Klub Layden, saying it could bring crime into the community. And neighbors and city officials are debating whether the residential area is the proper location for a private club.\nMarta Moody, director of the city-county plan commission, said Klub Layden could violate zoning rules for adult entertainment, but officials aren't sure whether the facility is operating as an adult business or a private club.\nCity laws require adult businesses to be at least 500 feet from residential areas.\nMuncie City Council member Mary Jo Barton said she was unaware of the club's existence until recently.\n"I can't say they're causing problems," she said, adding she does not want the establishment to stay.\nA woman who identified herself as a manager, but refused to give her name, told The Associated Press that the club and its members were discreet and had received no complaints from neighbors.\nThe club is open two days a week and has pool tables, a dance floor, a six-person hot tub, a multiple-person shower and "sensually designed theme rooms," according to its Web site.\nKlub Layden is open Friday and Saturday nights, and advises its members to bring their own alcohol and contraception. The club provides sheets, bathrobes and locker rooms.\nAn annual membership costs $25 for couples and single men and $20 for single women.\nMembers must agree to not identify others or their experiences at the club without permission.\nMuncie Building Commissioner Jerry Friend cited the facility for minor code violations of exit lights and a bathroom that was not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.\nBut not all neighbors said they were troubled by the club.\n"I haven't heard anything from them over there," said Norma Brown, a resident who has lived nearby for five years.\nKlub Layden first opened in 2001 in the second-floor ballroom of the White River Plaza in Muncie, but moved in 2004 after its three-year lease expired.\nAccording to the California-based Lifestyles Organization, the parent company of the NASCA International Swing Association, about 500 such clubs are operating in the United States.\n"I think humans in general really aren't monogamous," said Gary Booth, a Lifestyles spokesman. "They force themselves to be."\nIndiana's other swing clubs are in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Valparaiso and northwest Indiana near Chicago.