04-25-2011 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, April 11, 2011 7:00 o'clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 13 of 30 (7. AMEND CHAPTER 31 REGARDING MASSAGE THERAPY LICENSING, Continued) McMillan asked if the City is notified of new therapists immediately or annually. Curtis stated Staff would hope that the massage center would notify the City of a new therapist being employed, which is stated in the license application, but if they are not notified, the annual license renewal should catch new massage therapists. Mattick stated there is a provision in the code under Section 31.21 regarding supplemental disclosures. Paragraph 2 says that "no licensee shall permit any individual not listed on the initial license application to work as a massage therapist on the licensed premises until the city clerk has completed a computer criminal history inquiry and/or driver's license history inquiry." Mayor McMillan opened the public hearing at 8:22 p.m. Zoe Vader stated she currently has a license through the City of St. Paul and also in the past has had licenses through Plymouth, Bloomington, and Wayzata. Vader indicated she currently does the practical exam testing for the City of St. Paul and has done that for a number of years. Vader stated the only concern she has with the licensing of the business owner is the public safety aspect and that it would be better to actually license the individual therapist. The business owner is able to obtain the license but the therapist would be the person responsible for holding the accountability to their practice. Vader stated in her view a business license would not be as effective. Vader indicated she has looked at the licenses of other cities. The City of Wayzata has a simple application process that requires the therapist come into city hall, pay a fee of $100 for the first year and $50 for the next year. Vader stated the fee is reasonable and is fairly standard and easy to verify. Vader stated in this provision Orono will want to address communicable diseases, which is one of the things that people would like to see addressed. Massage therapy centers have a lot of turnover so a yearly check may not be adequate to ensure public safety. Bremer asked what would happen to an employer if they hire someone who is not licensed. Vader stated it typically is an independent contractor relationship, which makes it more difficult to enforce. Bremer commented that would depend on the facility and the issue is how to get the word out that individual therapists need to be licensed. Vader noted there is no state licensing presently. Vader indicated she does not disagree with licensing the business owner. The City of St. Paul licenses both and has one of the more complex licensing processes. Vader suggested the City of Orono keep their license process simple. Vader recommended the City require the business owners and the individual therapists be licensed. Mattick noted originally the City did discuss having a dual licensing procedure, but in an attempt to simplify it, changed it to only licensing the owners. Before the City Council tonight is an amendment to require each individual massage therapist to submit to a criminal background check as part of the massage therapy license. Mattick indicated he recommended the City license the massage therapy center to hold them accountable and because it is difficult for the City to know when a new massage therapist is hired. Item #03 - CC Agenda - 04/25/2011 Approval of Council Minutes 04/11/2011 [Page 13 of 30]