IRON MOUNTAIN — Communities in the Upper Peninsula will consider a mutual strategy to defend against property tax appeals filed by Flagstar Bank, Iron Mountain City Manager Jordan Stanchina said Monday.

In December 2018, Flagstar acquired 52 Wells Fargo branches in the Midwest, including 14 in the Upper Peninsula.

In an assessment appeal filed with the Michigan Tax Tribunal, Flagstar seeks a taxable value of $350,000 for its bank branch at 1805 S. Stephenson Ave. The city has set a 2020 taxable value of $840,200, which Stanchina said reflects what Flagstar paid for the property.

Taxable values in Michigan are set at half the true cash value, which can be based on a number of factors, including comparable sales. The purchase price for the bank property in November 2018 was $1,609,083, Stanchina said during the city council’s teleconference meeting.

“There’s a perfect comparable in this case,” he said. “It’s their own building.”

Stephenson Mayor Connie Westrich is organizing an effort to challenge Flagstar petitions across the U.P., Stanchina said. “We’ll have to see what the response is from other communities,” he added. The approach might include hiring a law firm and conducting a coordinated appraisal of the properties.

The Flagstar petition is the only new case before the tribunal that affects Iron Mountain.

In Breitung Township, a preliminary settlement has been reached in an appeal filed last year by PM Lodging. The taxable value for five Pine Mountain resort parcels in 2019 will be $423,600, a reduction of $151,800, or 26%.

Also, IMRD LLC of Houghton has filed a petition against Breitung Township over a multi-unit building at W8159 S. Stephenson Ave., which includes space leased to Forward Financial. The current taxable value is $767,044, and the owner wants it reduced to $466,260, a 39% cut.

In other action Monday, the Iron Mountain council:

— In coordination with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources adopted archery hunting guidelines to renew its deer management program. Largely due to a baiting ban to curb the spread of chronic wasting disease, last year’s harvest fell to just 17 deer, down from 48 in 2018. The program has been conducted since 2012, with a peak harvest of 73 in 2015.

“We’ll still offer it and hope that we have a little more success,” Stanchina said. “I know there’s plenty of deer out there.”

The permit-limited hunt is confined to parcels of 5 acres or more. A buck may be harvested under state regulations only if an archer already has registered three antlerless deer.

— Heard Stanchina report that siphons have been installed at H Street and Kimberly Avenue to direct, when possible, accumulated water drainage to the Iron Mountain-Kingsford Wastewater Treatment Plant. Because the plant near the Menominee River has a limited capacity, the siphons are turned off if there’s a threat of rain, but the tactic has helped get water away from streets and Crystal Lake, he said.

— Learned the Downtown Development Authority has canceled the Oktoberfest celebration due to pandemic restrictions.

— Urged residents to be more careful in using the Department of Public Works compost drop-off site. A rock in a brush pile damaged a contractor’s wood-chipping machine, Stanchina said, and future incidents could lead to the site being closed. “Try to use it in an appropriate manner, so we can continue to keep it open,” he said.

— In light of the pandemic, discussed the possibility of special considerations for marijuana businesses in meeting investment obligations. The council may have to consider extending deadlines for Rize UP and Lume Cannabis/Attitude Wellness, who hold the city’s only two dispensary licenses but have yet to open.