Decatur City Council votes to require $50 license for massage therapists - WAND

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DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — Massage therapy locations in Decatur will be required to apply for a $50 license.

Monday night, Decatur City Council passed an ordinance unanimously that outlines licensing requirements for massage establishments in the city.

The proposed ordinance was previously tabled at the March 3 meeting in order to foster more collaboration between the Council and massage therapists in the area.

The Director of the Decatur Wellness Collective, Alyssa Swingle, had the opportunity to collaborate with counsel to adjust the ordinance, with input from other massage therapists in the area.

The ordinance requires that massage establishments be both licensed and up-to-date with eligibility requirements. Requirements include inspections by police, fire and code enforcement to ensure compliance and safety. It also creates standards for sanitation and operation, as well as guidelines for employees.

The largest change to the ordinance is licensing deadlines. Now, licenses must be renewed on April 30 of every odd year for $50, instead of once a year for $25.

Swingle explained it was changed to be the opposite years for state licensing renewal. "It's to reduce the number of inspections that we have to do to reduce the number of opportunity for background checks and fingerprinting and, just extra work because so many people are just on their own." Swingle said.

Most notable are the operation requirements outlines in the proposed ordinance, especially after nearly a dozen massage parlors were closed in Springfield due to non-compliance with an ordinance passed last summer to combat human trafficking.

The proposed ordinance requires that all employees of the establishment shall not take their clothes off, or offer or agree to take their clothes off. All patrons must have their sexual or genital area covered by towels, cloths, or undergarments when in the presence of any employees of the establishment.

The ordinance determines that it is unlawful for any employees of the establishment to place their hands on, touch with any part of their body, to fondle, or massage a sexual or genital area of any person while on the licensed premises. No employees shall perform, offer, or agree to perform any act that would require physical contact with the patron's sexual or genital area.

One large change to the ordinance is the specification of what qualifies as "sexual or genital areas." Swingle explained it was to provide further guidance for massage therapists. "It was changed to be more anatomically specific, to make sure that massage therapists weren't being hindered in the hands-on work that they were being done." said Swingle.

Any prospective customers and patrons must be provided with a written notice that states that state law prohibits soliciting another for the purpose of a sexual act. It explains the possible legal repercussions, and that any offers or requests will be immediately reported to law enforcement. It also requires that a similar notice be posted in a location accessible to all employees.

The ordinance also outlines advertising practices; there cannot be any advertisement, picture, or statements that suggest or imply any sexual activity in connection with massage services, or suggest a patron to purchase services for sexual activity. It also prevents depicting any portion of the human body that would imply to customers that sexual activity is available or will be performed in connection with massage services.

However, other big steps were made at Decatur City Council in addition to the Massage Establishment Ordinance.

The council permanently adopted a lift assist fee for commercial assisted living facilities, which had been approved last year with a one-year sunset clause. Additionally, since functions will be moved to City of Decatur, the City Manager was authorized to end agreements with the Central IL Land Bank Authority (CILBA). Doing tasks "in-house" in Decatur will be cost-saving, and performed internally.

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