A CURIOUS FAWN peers out of the enclosed deer habitat at Iron Mountain City Park in October 2024. (Terri Castelaz/Daily News file photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — Dale Alessandrini will begin his 13th straight year as Iron Mountain mayor and Kyle Blomquist will remain mayor pro tem, the city council has decided.

The council’s reorganizational meeting Monday followed a Nov. 4 election in which three incumbents were unopposed on the ballot for the council’s ward seats — Alessandrini in Ward 1, David Farragh in Ward 2 and Cathy Tomassoni in Ward 3.

Tomassoni on Monday nominated at-large council member Ken Clawson for the mayor and mayor pro tem positions, but majority support kept the offices status quo.

The other at-large members are Mark Wickman, who was absent, Pam Maule and Blomquist.

Iron Mountain’s mayor presides at meetings of the council — as a voting member — and is recognized as the ceremonial head of city government. Reorganizational meetings are held every two years.

In other business, Alessandrini confirmed that a lack of veterinary care could mean the end of the City Park deer herd.

Ingalls veterinarian Dr. Barry Wehner drafted a plan this summer to correct deer pen deficiencies cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, but hasn’t offered an overall cost for the veterinary care needed to keep it licensed.

Clawson asked Monday if there’s anything new in that regard, and City Manager Jordan Stanchina said no.

If a veterinarian can’t be hired, the city will likely lose its license with no choice but to cull the entire herd, Alessandrini said. The pen has been a City Park attraction since at least the 1940s.

In September, Stanchina shared an estimated cost of $20,300 for one-time pen improvements needed to satisfy USDA requirements. In addition to veterinary care, ongoing annual costs would include roughly $19,600 for grain, hay, straw and tuberculosis testing.

There are now 17 deer in the 6-acre enclosure, after the culling of eight earlier this fall.

The idea of discontinuing the pen has drawn a mixed public response. Some citizens have told the council the closure is past due, while others — including representatives of Friends of City Park — say it’s a huge draw worth preserving.

Outside the pen, about 25 to 30 archery hunters have harvested 79 deer this year on designated parcels within city limits, Stanchina reported.

As the season runs through Jan. 1, the city has obtained more permits from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, raising the harvest limit to 150, up from 100. A total of 82 deer were taken last year.

Residents have approached the council in recent years describing the urban herd as out of control. The city about 20 years ago deployed sharpshooters to trim it and later turned to the managed archery hunt. The 2024 harvest was the highest since the program began in 2012.

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Jim Anderson can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 85226, or janderson@ironmountaindailynews.com.