KINGSFORD — The Kingsford City Council approved a plan Monday to participate in the State Recycling Cart Grant program to help save money on state-mandated curbside recycling.

City Manager Mike Stelmaszek indicated he has been working with the Central Upper Peninsula Planning and Development, or CUPPAD, Regional Commission and by participating in the grant they are committing to curbside recycling. To increase chances for the grant money, the city plans to team with Iron Mountain and Norway and any other county municipalities interested.

Kingsford will need about 2,500 recycling containers at about $55 per container. The city has about 2,280 households, so it will leave some for replacements or new people who move into the area.

“Trying to get the grant saves money and shows the state that the city is taking a step toward recycling,” Mayor Joe Groeneveld said.

Kingsford tried to partner with the City of Norway to offer curbside recycling on a voluntary basis at a cost of $8.50 a month, with collection through Green for Life of Kingsford. But a minimum of 1,000 households needed to sign up between the two municipalities to receive this price, and they fell well short.

Kingsford had about 440 household sign up, Stelmaszek said. The cost will now likely be more. Kingsford does its own garbage collection, while many communities use Green for Life for both garbage and recycling.

The council had a public input session Monday on the city’s plan to apply for the grant. Only one person spoke — Andy Wiltzius, who lives on North Pyle Drive and stressed the importance of recycling, adding Kingsford also need to support work done by TRICO’s Opportunity Inc. TRICO collects paper and cardboard, which creates jobs for employees. City officials assured him they will continue to support TRICO and that they partner with the company for an annual shredding event. Stelmaszek also indicated other people had expressed a similar sentiment.

Council member Michael Flaminio said he was disappointed with the sign-up numbers.

“We live in one of the most beautiful places and you would think they would have an interest in maintaining it,” he said.

Council member Daniel Freeman agreed and said it is difficult to implement a voluntary sign up and the city probably would have had to go door-to-door, which is hard to do.

In other business, the council:

— Learned 10 hunters took 36 deer during the annual city archery hunt. Last year, 14 hunters participated and took a total of 34 deer.

— Heard from Boy Scout Jacob Marutz of Kingsford that he would like to build a pavilion at Lodal Park near the pickleball courts for his Eagle Scout project. The city will look at the plans to decide the best place for the pavilion and probably approve it at the next meeting, which will be Tuesday, Jan. 20, due to the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday Jan. 19. Marutz has been a Scout for 10 years, he said.

— Learned Scott Sternhagen and staff from CliftonLarsonAllen LLP have completed the audit and he will give a report at the next council meeting.

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Marguerite Lanthier can be reached at 906-774-3500, ext. 85242, or mlanthier@ironmountaindailynews.com.