SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The South Lake Tahoe city council approved the use of state and local fiscal recovery funds for a broadband infrastructure feasibility during their Tuesday, Feb. 1 meeting.

The city will appropriate $400,000 of American Rescue Plan Act funding for the feasibility study and implementation.

The study will review broadband technology and trends, policy analysis, service and infrastructure analysis, market, site and gap analysis. It will also include business and community needs assessment and community outreach.

The study was approved 4-0. Councilmember Tamara Wallace was absent from the meeting.

During the meeting, which lasted just over an hour, council established Juneteenth as a paid holiday for city staff.

Assistant to the city manager, Tom Stuart, started the conversation by reminding listeners of the significance of Juneteenth.

During public comment, community member Ed Mosur asked how many black employees the city has and said the money spent on the paid holiday would be better used for education around race issues.

Mayor Devin Middlebrook said it wasn’t relevant how many African American people the city employed.

“This isn’t a black holiday, its an American holiday,” Middlebrook said.

Councilmember John Friedrich and Cody Bass supported Mosur’s idea to implement an educational aspect to the holiday.

During the meeting, the council approved a classification and compensation study.

“People are the most important asset of any organization,” Stuart said during his presentation on the top.

A classification and compensation strategy will help define the types of jobs and how much those jobs will pay.

The last compensation study was conducted in 2017/18 and the last full classification and compensation study was conducted in 2008/09. Since then, staff say the city hasn’t had a city-wide compensation strategy.

The study will likely cost $50,000-75,000 and will need to be allocated from undesignated funds from the fiscal year 2021-2022 budget.

The council also approved several items on the consent agenda, including approval of a budget amendment for the execution of loan agreements with Sugar Pine Housing, LLC for the Sugar Pine Village Project, the proposed 248-unit affordable housing project on 11.6 acres of land owned by the state of California and managed by the California Tahoe Conservancy.

The council also approved grant application submittals for several Public Works Department projects including Tahoe Valley Stormwater & Greenbelt Improvement Project.

The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 5:30 p.m.