Rochester massage therapy businesses placed on probation following failed inspections - Rochester Post Bulletin

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ROCHESTER — Six Rochester-licensed massage businesses were placed on probation Monday, with another two facing the same results after they all allegedly failed inspections by Olmsted County Public Health.

“We transitioned away from a complaint-driven system to a license-driven system,” Sagar Chowdhury, associate director of Olmsted County Public Health, said Monday of the pilot program that led to the proposed probation.

Rochester License Examiner Christiaan Cartwright said the owners of another two businesses have also signed probation agreements, but the paperwork wasn’t completed in time to be included in the Rochester City Council’s agenda for Monday. They are expected to be considered on May 15.

In the past, action was only taken against massage businesses after complaints led to law-enforcement investigations, which Cartwright said was time consuming and required extensive staff time.

“We want to be much more deliberative and much more fair,” he said of the new approach, which sent county inspectors to 38 businesses holding city massage licenses.


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During its 7 p.m. meeting Monday, Rochester City Council voted 5-2 to approve six probation agreements. Council members Molly Dennis and Kelly Rae Kirkpatrick opposed the action.

The probation agreements follow a series of inspections conducted between Dec. 5, 2022, and Jan. 19, 2023.

Chowdhury said the inspections focused on sanitation practices to prevent the potential spread of disease, as well as identifying potential signs of human trafficking, which would include evidence that people are living at a non-home-based business.

“We’re trying to do an all-encompassing preventive inspection,” he said, comparing the process to inspections his department already conducts in restaurants and hotels.

Potential administrative action can be taken against businesses found to have:

• Multiple sites testing positive for seminal fluid.
• Linens that are not changed between clients and regularly laundered.
• A lack of routine cleaning.
• No access to handwashing.
• A therapist who is not appropriately dressed.
• Full kitchen set-up and sleeping/living quarters observed.

Cartwright said one goal of the pilot program is to determine how businesses are operating to increase oversight of those offering massage therapy outside medical facilities and other businesses, which face similar state-level inspections.
The City Council discussed a potential ordinance change last year , which could have led to a license suspension after a failed inspection, but Cartwright said city staff decided to take a lighter approach.

“We really want to treat this as an educational year,” he said.

With eight businesses considered to have failed their inspection, 29 passed their inspections and another business is facing a follow-up inspection.


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Cartwright said a single violation didn’t lead to a failed inspection, but businesses were placed on probation after multiple violations were found.

He said key violations that triggered a failed inspection were seminal fluid being found in multiple rooms and evidence that living quarters were being created where they shouldn’t exist.

While such violations could be signs that businesses are partaking in illicit practices, Cartwright said they don’t necessarily indicate that illegal activity was occurring.

However, he said the violations do point to a failure to meet sanitation expectations set by the city.

“It says what we found was deeply disturbing,” Cartwright said, adding that business owners were informed of changes that must be made.

If illegal activity is discovered, he said it will be dealt with by the police department and county attorney’s office.

Under the existing regulations, the probation agreements put the license holders on notice, and the businesses will be allowed to continue operations, but face potential suspension if further violations are found.

Rochester City Clerk Kelly Geistler, whose department oversees the licenses, said the approach was intentional to ensure the inspection process didn’t penalize a business for a misunderstanding, especially since some owners face language barriers.


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“We want to bridge any gap in understanding and have them continue to have their business,” she said.

The new inspections have met with both opposition and support from local businesses.

“This is a bad plan,” Casey McGregor, owner of Spa Casey, told the City Council during its Jan. 9 meeting.

McGregor, who has addressed the City Council on the issue several times, said the inspections appear to target massage businesses, rather than perpetrators of human trafficking.

“With all the licenses I hold, I am more regulated than an abortion clinic,” she added.

Baoquin Fan of Cloud 9 Spa said she supports the added city and county oversight, pointing out that it sends a message that sexual services are not offered by legitimate massage businesses.

“Programs such as this pilot let the public know that having a license through the city of Rochester means a business is a clean and safe environment for our community,” she wrote in a letter supporting the program.

This report will be updated following the City Council meeting.

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