City May Open Up Community Center to Therapeutic Massage Business

Veterans Memorial Community Center could be getting its own rehabilitative massage service, if the Inver Grove Heights City Council approves a proposal submitted by city staff.

Inver Grove Heights Parks and Recreation Director Eric Carlson said having a licensed rehabilitative or therapeutic massage business in the community center could help generate revenue for the city. If approved, the proposal would also complement the physical fitness and athletic training services already offered by the facility, Carlson added.

Over the last two years, the city has seen a 10-15 percent increase in the number of visitors signing up for individual fitness classes, Carlson said. As the service has grown, community center members have become more interested in other health options, including nutrition, massage and chiropractic services, he said.

The center has roughly 700 square feet of unused space that was left over after the community center and Parks and Recreation Department staff moved into a single office space. Under the proposal, the city would likely lease the space to a massage provider that would be selected through a Request For Proposal (RFP) process. Allowing a massage service to set up shop in the community center also fits with the findings of the community center’s 2007 operational audit, which recommended using space in the center to its fullest revenue-generating potential, Carlson said.

City officials would need to complete a market study to determine how much to charge for use of the space. The city would likely seek out a service provider that could handle sports injuries, orthopedics and aging issues, which is especially important as the number of older adults using the center continues to grow, Carlson said.

“The therapeutic massage services are something that are a perfect fit for the senior population,” Carlson said.

Although the council has not yet taken action on the proposal, several Inver Grove Heights City Council members spoke in favor of the idea at a work session earlier this month, including Inver Grove Heights Mayor George Tourville.

“It fits into the business, and if we are underutilizing the space, it’s our obligation to see if we can better utilize it,” Tourville said at the work session.

But Councilor Rosemary Piekarski Krech took a more cautious approach to the topic. While Piekarski Krech believes a massage provider would complement the community center’s existing services, she worries the proposal could put the city in competition with other local massage practices.

“It sounds like a good idea, but my concern is that anytime the government starts to go into something a private enterprise has been doing, that we’re not in direct competition with the private enterprise,” Pierkarski Krech said on Tuesday.

Carlson estimates that there are as many as 10 other licensed massage services in the city. The city hasn’t yet met with any of other businesses about the proposal, he said.

Piekarski Krech expects to hear feedback from the businesses over the city’s proposal. If the council approves the plan, she hopes the RFP process the city uses to select a massage provider for the community center is an “equitable” one.