All those in the massage therapy program at Northern Virginia Community College may want to pay close attention to the Sept. 6 Dumfries Town Council meeting.

The Dumfries Town Council recently discussed reasons why the town’s requirement that “massage technicians” pay an annual $1,000 fee should be eliminated.

Kimberly Blanton, a Dumfries resident and massage therapist, originally brought the issue to Councilwoman Michele D. Jurgensen. Blanton spoke to the council during the work session saying that the $1,000 fee is too much for her to have to fork over after all that she has done to get licensed and certified. She told the council that, since this fee would have to be paid for each massage therapist every year, she would never be able to grow her business, at least not in Dumfries.

Interim Town Manager Dan Taber told the council that the town has only one business currently paying the massage license fee, and that is Oasis [Massage Therapy].

“The only people doing massage and paying the $1,000 are next to the porn shop,” stated Blanton. “Put two and two together. They have the grand. I’m a small business owner, a mother of a child. I don’t have $1,000.”

Interim Town Manager Daniel Taber said that, even if the $1,000 fee is revoked, there still needs to be a fee to cover a background check that is required before a permit to practice massage therapy can be issued. He noted that the current $50 fee is inadequate to cover the cost of a full background investigation.

Town Attorney Christine R. Sanders said the fee was established in 1990. There was some discussion as to whether the term massage technician applies to massage therapists. The town ordinance states: “Massage technician means any person who administers a massage to another person at a massage parlor. This definition shall not be construed to include a physician, surgeon, chiropractor, physical therapist or nurse duly licensed by the Commonwealth.”

Cleveland Anderson, a Dumfries business owner and Republican candidate for the House of Delegates, gave his take on the matter.

“I know why this thousand dollars was implemented… We had ‘massage parlors’ in this town,” he said while making quotation marks with his fingers. “That’s what started this whole thing. This is what I was told: This does not have anything to do with certified, licensed massage therapists; this has to do with massage parlors.”

Jurgensen proposed that the $1,000 fee to be eliminated. “Now I realize that that’s probably not how everybody feels, but I don’t see it as a seedy business. And I know that Dumfries has had its fair share of bad press with this, but I see massage therapy as a holistic form of medicine. And I don’t know if we charge dentists that amount of money to have a business — hair salons or nails salons that offer personal services, estheticians or whatever. So I would like to see massage therapy as a professional business. And if we don’t charge it for somebody who does hair or nails, [massage therapists] shouldn’t be charged it either.”

“If it’s a holistic, wholesome business, then we should look at it as a wholesome business and consider those people that practice it as professionals,” added Councilman Willie J. Toney.

“To be certified and licensed, you’ll go through a heck of a lot of schooling. And these people are just as qualified to work and enjoy a livelihood like anybody else without having to pay an exorbitant fee,” said Anderson.

“I really want to be in Dumfries. I live in Dumfries,” said Blanton. “I want to work where I live.”

The council could not vote on the issue that night because it was a work session and not a regular meeting. It plans to address the issue Sept. 6.

UPDATE: The council will vote on an amendment to the massage therapy fee at their Sept. 20 meeting. The proposed changes include eliminating the $1,000 massage technician fee and charging a $50 permit fee for the town. There’s also a $204 permit investigation fee that goes to Prince William County that looks into details of the establishment and covers a thorough background check. This comes with an annual renewal fee of $153. Once that is completed, a therapist would need to bring the paperwork to Dumfries and pay an additional $25 fee.

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By: KJ Mushung

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