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Steamboat Springs — The Steamboat Springs branch of Curves is working to find a permanent location.

The battle, Paula Ford said, represents how tough it is for small businesses to pin down and pay for the right spot. The women's workout center had to move from its spot at Fifth and Yampa streets this spring. They had to leave a location on Park Avenue after a couple of months because vibrations disturbed other tenants, Ford said.

The women have rented a spot near 13th Street and Lincoln Avenue for this month, Ford said.

"It's very affordable rent," she said. "It's just a very small space, but for a month, we can make do."

The co-op that runs Curves hopes to work out a deal for a site in western Steamboat.

Membership numbers have plummeted. The group went from more than 200 a couple of years ago to fewer than 80 in May. Membership now is below 60, Ford said. Women stopped coming because they were unhappy with the location, she said.

"We thought people would be glad to have it," Ford said. "But we had a lot of people quit because they just didn't like it."

She said the landlord at Park Place was helpful and treated the group well, assisting the Curves women in their hunt for a new location. The landlord, Mark Halvorson, did not return calls seeking comment.

"He was wonderful," Ford said. "Other landlords aren't as accommodating. They think of Steamboat, they see dollar signs, and they want top dollar."

Ford and the other Curves women have high hopes for a spot in western Steamboat. Susan Ellis, a paralegal who has worked on arrangements for a new location, said it was too early to confirm a site. Talks with the building owner began Tuesday.

"We're just getting back into the game," Ellis said.

Ellis said she has been exercising at Curves for years. She enjoys the 30-minute circuit, and she's financially invested in its future.

"I am the one that put the money up to get it transferred into our name" when 25 women took over ownership from Melissa Palmer in May, Ellis said.

Ford and Ellis said they hope to open in a new location in October. Ford said her heart went out to other small businesses trying to pay rent in Steamboat.

"It's just sad," she said. "You've got to work together; you've got to be a community. We've got to work as a community to have a nice town."