(Wines&Vines) - In Napa Valley, everyone talks about labor shortages at wineries, hotels and restaurants. Now one town is doing something about it.

Borrowing from the concept used by high-tech companies on the San Francisco peninsula, the mayor of Calistoga announced his plan to start a private shuttle service to bring workers from Napa and Santa Rosa—and perhaps Vallejo in Solano County or Middletown in Lake County—to work in its hospitality and other businesses.

“Workforce availability is the No. 1 business issue in Calistoga,” said Chris Canning, mayor of the small city at the north end of Napa Valley and executive director of its Chamber of Commerce. That’s in spite of wages above the minimum level — if not a living wage — in the expensive valley.

Making the first public announcement about the project today at a transportation workshop organized by the Napa Valley Vintners, Canning cited an unemployment rate of 1.6% in the town. “We joke that if you have a pulse, you can get a job,” he said.

With two big new resorts expected to bring 500 new jobs to the city in the next few years, the mayor said it’s time to act.

Canning said there’s no easy way to building enough affordable homes for Calistoga workers, and 60% of the workforce in Calistoga commutes into town. He said 28% of workers come from Napa and Vallejo, 20% from Santa Rosa over the Mayacamas Mountains in Sonoma County and 11% from Middletown over Mount St. Helena.