WILLMAR
— A public listening to relating to the regulation and licensing of therapeutic massage therapists and therapeutic massage remedy companies will happen through the common assembly of the
Willmar Metropolis Council
on Monday, Aug. 7 at 6:30 p.m. The assembly will happen within the auditorium on the Willmar Municipal Utilities constructing.
Whereas introducing the ordinance on the July 17 council assembly, Willmar Police Chief Jim Felt thanked Metropolis Legal professional Robert Scott, Detective Sgt. Chad Nelson and Katy Lundell-Stuhr from the Ridgewater Faculty therapeutic massage remedy program in serving to craft the ordinance.
“We felt (the ordinance) would assist shield the various reliable therapeutic massage therapists and companies in our group and assist with sanitation wants and assist forestall prison exercise,” Felt mentioned.
Felt offered a quick overview of the ordinance, which might require each therapeutic massage therapists and therapeutic massage remedy companies to be licensed by town and pay a licensing charge set by the council. Exceptions would made be for varied medical professionals and amenities to function with out a license, akin to nursing houses and chiropractic workplaces.
Companies and particular person therapists would have insurance coverage necessities and meet instructional certification necessities, and be topic to a prison background verify. It will be required that the therapeutic massage therapist be a minimum of 18 years previous.
The ordinance would additionally require particular areas of the physique be lined through the remedy and prohibit intentional touching of particular physique elements. It will additionally specify that therapeutic massage remedy companies function solely between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9:30 p.m.
“We present in our group some companies are open considerably later than that,” Felt commented.
The ordinance additionally contains sanitation necessities for providers, linens and handwashing, and permits for inspection by public well being, constructing officers and police throughout enterprise hours to make sure compliance. It additionally prohibits specific promoting for therapeutic massage remedy companies.
“Varied therapeutic massage remedy practitioners in our space have expressed help for such an ordinance and the necessities that have been famous,” Felt to the council. “We additionally really feel that this could be a worthwhile instrument for prevention and removing of companies that function in unsafe and unsanitary manners or concerned in prison exercise in our group.”
He famous that Willmar has a number of therapeutic massage remedy companies, most of which function as reliable entities, however the Police Division has taken a variety of complaints of some that function with questionable enterprise practices.
“Varied therapeutic massage companies throughout the state have been used as fronts for prostitution, human trafficking and cash laundering by prison entities,” Felt commented. “Sadly, our group just isn’t immune from this.”
He defined {that a} current investigation into transaction card fraud at a therapeutic massage enterprise in Willmar prompted expenses in opposition to a 42-year-old enterprise proprietor for prostitution, working a disorderly home and monetary transaction card fraud.
“Proof on the scene appeared to point ongoing and long-standing prison exercise of this kind in Willmar,” Felt mentioned.
Councilor Mike O’Brien requested what number of therapeutic massage remedy companies there are within the metropolis of Willmar, and Felt mentioned it’s laborious to say as a result of they’re presently not licensed.
“I do know we’ve had most likely a minimum of three which have been on our radar for varied complaints from the group on a reasonably common foundation, however they’re troublesome instances to research and much more troublesome to prosecute,” he added.
The entire agenda for the Aug. 7 assembly must be accessible on-line at
.
