GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Half of the 14 massage businesses up for license renewal Tuesday night in the City of Green Bay were denied.
The city adopted an ordinance one year ago requiring massage businesses to be licensed in hopes of weeding out illegal activity.
“I identified some that I didn’t feel were legitimate nine years ago,” said Leah Weycker, the executive director of the Military Avenue Business District.
After a long battle to get Military Avenue massage businesses investigated, Weycker says these denials are a sign of progress.
“I was thinking the ordinance wasn’t working well, like last week, and then I saw the list come out for recommending denial and was impressed and had to send my congratulations to the city attorney and the police department,” said Weycker.
Upon police recommendation, the city council voted to deny massage establishment licenses to seven applicants, including four from Military Avenue.
- VIP Spa – 842 S. Military Ave.
- Seven Day Spa – 131 S. Military Ave.
- East Spa – 1235 S. Military Ave.
- Sunrise Spa – 503 S. Military Ave.
- Moonlight Spa – 1740 E. Mason St.
- Cherry Spa – 1639 Deckner Ave.
- Green Bay Spa – 2685 W. Mason St.
All were granted licenses one year ago when the city’s ordinance requiring licenses took effect.
“We’re doing a more extensive background check where we found out more information, not just locally or in the state of Wisconsin,” said Lt. Steve Mahoney with the Green Bay Police Department. “We were able to find out more information.”
For example, police report an employee at a Military Avenue business had past prostitution convictions in Illinois and was also found guilty last year in Michigan of keeping a house of prostitution.
The owner of a massage establishment on Deckner Avenue, operating in the same building as a driving school, had prostitution-related charges in Pennsylvania.
Police also say they found six of the seven businesses were advertising on websites known for sexual services.
“I’m happy that we’re finally getting down to the nitty gritty of which ones are legitimate and which ones are not legitimate,” said Weycker.
The applicants denied license renewal will be mailed notices. They’ll have the right to appeal, which would mean a quasi-judicial hearing before the city council with police and the business getting to present their views.
Police use a seven-item checklist when deciding whether to recommend approval or denial of a license.
Individual therapists also must be licensed through the state of Wisconsin.
