The Ishpeming City Council voted to enter into an agreement negotiation for a land purchase from Cleveland-Cliffs on Wednesday. (Journal photo by Abby LaForest)

ISHPEMING — The Ishpeming City Council voted to move forward to create a purchase agreement with Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc., at their latest meeting.

On Wednesday evening, the council unanimously voted to begin drafting an agreement in collaboration with CCI in order to purchase 1,107 acres of land from the company. The land purchase includes key properties in the local area, including Cedar Beach (currently leased by CCI through 2048) and the U.P. Nordic Ski Complex’s infamous “Suicide Bowl” ski jump.

The proposed purchase price is $239,753, with each acre proposed to cost $216.58.

The agreement isn’t yet official and the process could take a long time, according to Ishpeming Mayor Pat Scanlon.

“This is something that we’re entering into that could take not only months, maybe years,” said Scanlon at Wednesday night’s meeting.

After being in negotiations with CCI for over a month, the city held a special meeting on Tuesday evening so community members could voice their opinions and ask questions about the potential purchase. This was preceded by a presentation about the potential purchase and how it would affect the city.

“The first council closed session was in July. Over the course of several meetings during the month of July, the whole council was involved in reviewing and discussing proposals from Cliffs …” said Randy Scholz, Ishpeming city manager. “During the discussions, (the) council really focused on if they could boil (it) down the three main priorities; considering opportunities for future development, protecting and supporting the ski hill, and reserving and expanding recreation opportunities for the community. The city is aware that there are some homes, there are some leases with some of these properties. The city, from what I’ve heard from (the) council, is not interested in being landlords. We’d work with those individuals on those leases. As part of the process, the council has also reviewed property evaluations, title information and other due diligent materials to better understand the proposal. If (the) council moves forward with some purchase, obviously we’ll have a due diligence period to do evaluations if there’s other environmental concerns.”

The timeline on if and when the city will purchase the property is not known at this time.

Questions about the land purchase can be directed to Randy Scholz at 906-485-1091.

The city of Ishpeming holds regular city council meetings at 6 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month. They take place in council chambers at city hall, which is located at 100 E. Division St. The next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 17.

Council packets and agendas can be accessed online at ishpemingcity.org/city-council-2/city-council-agendas-and-minutes. Full recordings of council meetings can be viewed on the city’s YouTube page.

Abby LaForest can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 548. Her email address is alaforest@miningjournal.net.