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4. Are you currently exeperienceing any challenges with (select options): <br />municipal utilities, private utlities-gas <br />a. most seasonal workers enjoy the atmosphere of respect, strict attention to safety, and perks, it has not been a problem to get help, b. no experience needed, i. unable to upgrade facility as <br />they wanted due to restrictive zoning/permitting which requires more setback for building on agricultural land (existing building would not be allowed under current rules) <br />a. tough labor market, which he expects to worsen when the Amazon warehouse hiring starts. The part-time staff is mostly entry-level - wait staff, busing, etc. , b. no need for educated <br />employees, training is in house, c. no transportation needed for products, d. employees may bicycle to work, or drive their own cars, he has plenty of parking available, e. employee housing is <br />not a real problem, many are either young adults living with family, or live in Cimmaron, f. financing is not a problem in this case, there is not a current need for bank financing but this is a <br />solid, creditworthy business if financing were needed. Owns the building and pays rent to himself, g. Municipal utilities - this location has been on city water since 1962, no particular <br />problems. City sewer will be coming soon. Cost will be high, h. Right now the "cost of goods sold" is killing profitability because, for example, if the price of eggs goes up 400%, there is no way <br />to raise menu prices enough to make up for the additional cost without driving customers away. <br />The Conditional Use Permit for this business restricts growth and they are not sure if it can be modified. There is a very large industrial development just to the west of their property which <br />has industrial / commercial zoning while their property was rezoned from agricultural to limited business some time ago, and they do not know what it would take to get theirs changed. Job <br />posting is done on Handshake, Facebook, and via a career page on their own website https://www.animalinnpetresort.net/careers/. Another site is animalinntraining.com. Younger employees <br />generally do not live in Lake Elmo due to high costs, but come in from Oakdale or western Wisconsin. The UW River Falls campus has animal health curriculum which is the basis of some of <br />their employees' job skills. No serious problems with employee transportation or employee housing, but recruitment is an issue now. Financing is not a problem, their water comes from a <br />well, and the cleaning of kennels takes a lot of water. They have difficulty with getting good internet, Centurylink is expensive (both monthly cost and charges for upgrades) and slow. <br />The challenge at this time is lack of nearby affordable housing for junior staff members, some come from Wisconsin and Cottage Grove. Transportation is not an issue as most employees have <br />cars, and on-site parking is an advantage. Utilities - An issue with municipal utilities relates to City water billing - no problem with water supply.