IRON MOUNTAIN — The city of Iron Mountain is among 29 Michigan communities — and the only one in the Upper Peninsula — that will receive a 2023 DTE Energy Foundation Tree Planting Grant.

The city was awarded $4,000 under a program that will provide $102,545 to help communities and organizations in Michigan add trees to streets, parks and other public spaces.

Iron Mountain residents will be invited to purchase trees to plant in the spring at an estimated cost of $35, said Isaac Micheau, city clerk-treasurer.

The plan calls for planting 21 trees in the boulevard area between the sidewalk and street. If there is no sidewalk, a city right-of-way can be determined for placement.

As a matching contribution to the grant, city public works employees will do the plantings, City Manager Jordan Stanchina said.

Funding and technical support for the program are provided through a 27-year partnership of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, DTE Energy Foundation and ReLeaf Michigan. The grant program promotes planting the right types of trees in the right places to ensure they stay healthy, according to Kevin Sayers, DNR Urban and Community Forestry program coordinator.

Project proposals are solicited annually from eligible partners around the state. The next opportunity to apply is summer 2024.

Iron Mountain City Council, in cooperation with the city’s Tree Board, is pursuing a pair of larger grants totaling $87,000 through the DNR’s Urban and Community Forestry Program.

Final applications were reviewed Monday for projects to provide tree removal and replacement in both the downtown and in Cemetery Park.

The downtown work would replace 15 trees on East A Street that have outgrown the opening in the sidewalk.

The grant provides $37,000, while the city is offering an in-kind labor and equipment match of $54,500 for tree removal and other support.

A second grant would enable the city to hire a contractor to remove 15 to 17 large and mostly dead trees from Cemetery Park and replace them with small- to medium-size trees.

Estimated cost is $50,000, with no cash match required. In-kind labor and equipment help is expected, however, from city crews.

Joshua Isaac, Dickinson Conservation District forester, is assisting in grant planting and management.

In other action, the council:

≤ Heard a West B Street resident says she’s concerned about a decline in property upkeep, noting many people are keeping their garbage containers at the street every day of the week. Stanchina said the city has begun tagging containers that aren’t properly stored away from the front yard after pickups, as required by city ordinance.

≤ Noted loose leaf collections are underway, with updates to be posted on the city’s Facebook page. Loose leaves should be placed in the grassy area along the edge of the roadway, with no brush mixed in. Collections start in the southeast quarter of the city, moving clockwise through the remaining zones.

≤ Received one bid at $19,850 for the removal of about 20 trees and stumps throughout the city. The proposal from 1st Down Tree Service of Iron Mountain was referred to the infrastructure committee.

≤ Accepted the low quote of $5,156 from Arcand’s Service Center of Iron Mountain to replace the transmission in a 2016 Ford Escape used by the police department. Five other garages submitted quotes ranging from $5,701 to $7,148, while four others declined. The replacement is too difficult for city mechanics to do in-house, said Scott Thomas, department of public works supervisor.

≤ Reported 11 deer harvested as of Monday under a managed archery hunt that began Oct. 1.