Ramsey council denies massage therapy license

After completion of the required background check, Ramsey Police Chief Jeff Katers recommended the denial because, according to the Ramsey city ordinance, the school listed must be accredited by the U.S. Department of Education, Katers wrote in a memo to the City Council. Katers also recommended the denial because the applicant’s residence history did not coincide with other licenses previously held by the applicant, Junjie Liu.

“I did recommend denial for those two reasons,” Katers said during the council’s meeting on July 11. “I would just note that according to the school’s website, it says A2Z Health is currently not accredited by any regional or national accrediting agency that’s recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. The reason that we do that is because this industry has a history with human trafficking.”

Katers stated Homeland Security recommends law enforcement check the schools’ credentials through the U.S. Department of Education. USDE also monitors other accrediting agencies.

“In this case, those are the associations or professional associations that Mr. Liu listed, but those are not accrediting agencies,” Katers said. “So it doesn’t meet the standard for our city ordinance.”

Katers said that Liu listed he has a California massage license and handed council members a printed list of reasons why he should receive the business license, stating that their school was accredited by the state of California.

“The state of California issues no massage licenses,” Katers responded. “The Council on Massage Therapy in California issues them, there is no state license that is required. Some of the cities require a license through this professional organization. It is not a government agency.”

In Minnesota, there is not a state licensing board for massage therapy.

“So we rely on our city ordinances, which are pretty robust, and it’s up to the local councils to regulate that business through the zoning code in their cities,” Katers said.

Council Member Matt Woestehoff said he believes Jiu applied in good faith and did receive massage therapy training.

“I believe that you went to A2Z to do it; the problem is that it’s not a recognized organization by the U.S. Department of Education,” Woestehoff said. “Everything you have done is good, but it is not meeting our requirements. If you do wish to get a massage therapist license in Ramsey, going to a different school that is accredited would get you that license, but as it stands right now, unfortunately, the training that was received is not adequate, from what Chief Katers is saying. ”

Council Member Chelsee Howell added, “I’m sorry,” before voting in favor of the denial.

“If you’re able to get the things that you need that meet our requirements, it’d be lovely to have you here,” Howell said.

SOURCE: Hometown Source