(WGTD)--- An oversight is preventing Kenosha from taking full advantage of a recently-approved ordinance regulating massage parlors in the city.
As they were in the process of considering applications for a half-dozen licenses Monday, aldermen discovered that a thirty-day window for acting on such applications had already expired.
The hiccup means that the establishments by default are now all licensed.
The City Council went to work last year on developing a licensing procedure after the owner of the Pink Massage Spa at 37-17 52nd St. was charged with keeping a place of prostitution. The woman was eventually found guilty of pandering and facilitation.
The oversight was discovered shortly after Ald. Anthony Kennedy suggested Monday night that the committee delay action on the applications in order to give it time to resolve a few issues that were raised. That’s when Assistant City Attorney Matt Knight discovered that the committee was already out of time.
Even though the committee was essentially powerless to act, aldermen decided to press ahead with the individual questioning of the applicants.
While the city has taken charge of licensing the establishments, the state continues to wield authority over massage therapists via the Department of Safety and Professional Services.
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