(Daily News photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — An ordinance change that allows Iron Mountain to consider automated curbside trash collection will be the subject of a public hearing set for 6 p.m. Nov. 21 at City Hall.

The city council finalized the proposed amendment Monday. GFL Environmental USA, which took over trash pickups last year after acquiring Great American Environmental Services of Kingsford, introduced the idea in July. The intent is to hold down costs and prevent damage to alleys.

The proposed ordinance change doesn’t commit the city to a switch, but it does provide the flexibility needed to adopt a new system, City Manager Jordan Stanchina said. The new wording requires residents to place garbage in “designated containers approved by the city council.”

The plan is to provide each household with a 95-gallon wheeled cart. Most collections will be moved from alleys to the street, but GFL will do alley pickups in designated areas where topography is an issue. The ordinance change would strike language that requires containers hold no more than 32 gallons and weigh no more than 50 pounds.

GFL had said in July that automation would come at no increased cost in the existing contract, which runs through Sept. 14, 2024. Also, the contract could be extended three years, through Sept. 14, 2027, with a consumer price index increase of 4% annually. The only additional charge would be if a resident needs an extra cart, which would have a price of $1.50 per cart per month. Grant assistance to help add recycling might also be explored.

GFL’s automated trucks are equipped with a lifting device on the curbside. The operator is able to control the lifting, emptying and return of a cart without ever leaving the cab. The carts are designed to be maneuverable and easy to roll.

The ordinance change would require streetside placement of containers no earlier than 24 hours before collection day. Containers must be removed within 24 hours after pickup to an area adjacent to the house — but not within the front yard — or placed in an enclosed building or garage.

While automated collection already is the norm in a number of other communities in the Upper Peninsula and Wisconsin, both Kingsford and Breitung Township have resisted it.

After receiving proposals from contractors, Kingsford City Council decided in March to retain its own collections operation. Kingsford, which mainly has alley collections, requires that garbage be placed in receptacles made of plastic or galvanized steel with a fitted cover. There is a 32-gallon and 50-pound weight limit for each container.

Breitung Township Board in September formed a committee to do a cost analysis of doing its own collections. The township contracts with GFL for roadside and alley collections and a recent township survey showed 63.5% of residents preferred to keep the current trash collection system of 30-gallon bags and 50-gallon containers.

The township has also sought proposals from contractors who would be willing to retain the current container and pickup definitions.

In other action Monday, the Iron Mountain council:

— Approved a request from the Dickinson-Iron Great Start Collaborative and Dickinson County Library to place a “story walk”

near a paved trail at City Park. The project will begin soon but there would be no permanent placements until 2023, said Jonathan Ringel, Great Start’s parent coordinator. The intent is to promote early literacy. A story walk is an interactive storybook that can be read while walking, with new stories installed on a regular basis.

— Approved an ordinance change affecting special use permits for drive-in and fast food restaurants. The new language, as recommended by the city’s planning commission, eliminates a 20,000-square-foot minimum lot size requirement and makes adjustments to drive-thru spacing requirements. A public hearing Monday drew no feedback or comments.

— Heard Stanchina report that updates on leaf collections that began Oct. 31 can be found on the city’s Facebook page. Crews will collect as long as weather allows.

— Advised residents that the compost site behind the public works building will close for the season beginning Nov. 13, or possibly sooner, depending on when the brush grinding contractor arrives.

— Noted that street lights owned by the city on Carpenter Avenue and Ludington Street have been replaced with new LED lights. Stephenson Avenue lights will likely be replaced by early December.

— Learned that 17 deer have been culled so far during a managed archery hunt on designated city parcels.