(Marguerite Lanthier/Daily News photo, file) A vulnerable section of a retaining wall on West Ludington Street in Iron Mountain is shown. The city is seeking bids for a planned fix.

IRON MOUNTAIN — Bids will be due Jan. 20 as Iron Mountain looks to redesign a century-old retaining wall on West Ludington Street, using funding from the American Rescue Plan.

The anticipated lowest-cost plan is to place a precast concrete wall at the bottom of the existing stone wall, which extends more than a block in the area of South Pine Street. Any wall above the 3-foot, 6-inch height of the new wall would be removed.

The city has more than $600,000 available in unspent ARP funds and it’s hoped that a partial removal will be easily within that amount. Bids will also be sought for a full removal, which is likely beyond the budget.

Although city officials say the stone wall isn’t in danger of collapsing, it has been patched many times. Cement blocks have been placed in front of vulnerable sections that are marked with traffic cones and barricades.

Removing the entire wall would mean taking out the upper portion of Ludington Street, which splits when approaching from the east. By keeping a wall, traffic could be kept open on both the upper and lower sections, either marked as a one-way or a narrow road.

According to City Manager Jordan Stanchina, the area below the upper road would be sloped down into the new retaining wall.

The city council approved seeking bids Monday under specifications prepared by Coleman Engineering of Iron Mountain.

In other action, the council:

— Accepted the low bid of $468,515 from MEC Underground Solutions of Fairgrove to verify water service lines that contain lead. The work will be funded entirely through a Technical, Managerial and Financial Support for Lead Service Line Replacement grant. It was expected that a contractor would be able to conduct field verification for about 785 service lines, but the bid was low enough that additional identification may take place, Stanchina said. The grant amount from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy was $595,604, with no local match required.

— Recognized Edwin Mattson, who retired this year as director of police and fire services after nearly 32 years in the police department. A resolution presented to Mattson cites his dedicated service and “extraordinary efforts to make Iron Mountain a better community in which to live.”

— Reappointed Robert Badini to a three-year term on the Board of Review.

— After hearing from Iron Mountain Tree Board member Virginia Feleppa, agreed to apply to join the Arbor Day Foundation’s Tree City USA program. There is no cost and the city already meets the standard of spending at least $2 per resident annually on a community forestry program, which can include tree removals. Tree City USA participants recognize that trees increase property values, enhance the economic vitality of business areas and beautify the community. Also related to the Tree Board, Andrew Finkel was appointed to fill a vacancy. Finkel is development coordinator for the Dickinson Conservation District.

— Accepted a proposal from Bendzinski & Co. of Grosse Pointe to serve as financial advisor for the issuance of a bonds for an upcoming water project. The fee of $17,500 was the lowest among three quotes submitted. The project includes a $10.64 million loan at 2% interest from Michigan’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, plus a $2.666 million grant from the same source. Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone PLC of Detroit was previously hired as bond counsel at a cost of $65,000.

— Renewed a geographic information system mapping service agreement with Colligo GIS of Iron Mountain at a cost of $3,000 for 2025.

— Learned that 64 deer have been harvested to date during the city’s managed archery hunt, which runs through Jan. 1. A total of 56 deer were culled in the 2023 hunt.

— Noted City Hall will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday, Dec. 24-25, for the Christmas holiday. City Hall will also be closed Wednesday, Jan. 1, for New Year’s Day. During both weeks, regular Wednesday garbage collection will be on Thursday and regular Thursday garbage collection will be on Friday.

Jim Anderson can be reached at 906-774-3500, ext. 226. or janderson@ironmountaindailynews.com.