An expansion of Iron Mountain Cemetery Park west of Jackson Street will include a section with smaller grave sites for cremation burials at a reduced cost. (Jim Anderson/Daily News photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — Fines for parking violations are going up in Iron Mountain, an adjustment that city officials say is the first since 2010.

As approved by the city council Monday, general parking tickets will rise by $20, while tickets for violating the overnight winter parking ban will rise by $10.

The new fees for parking tickets are $45 if paid within three days, $55 if paid between four and 10 days, and $65 if paid after 10 days.

Winter parking tickets are $50 if paid within three days, $60 if paid between four days and 10 days, and $70 after 10 days.

Also approved was a new fee schedule for grave purchases at Iron Mountain Cemetery Park. The price for a single grave purchase for residents will remain $470, but there will be surcharge for lots adjacent to a road.

“These road-front graves are the most popular, and the new fee schedule aims to generate additional revenue,” City Manager Jordan Stanchina said in a memo to the council. “It’s important to note that the cemetery is not self-sustaining and relied on a general fund subsidy of $139,000 in the previous year.”

Additional grave purchase charges were set at $350 for those within a corner lot, or $230 for a front lot.

Also, a new section is set to open soon at the east end of the park — west of Jackson Street — that will include smaller grave sites for cremation burials at a reduced cost of $350.

“This addition acknowledges that 90 percent of burials are cremations,” Stanchina said. “By creating a cremation only area, it will allow for twice the number of graves in the designated area and extend the lifespan before a new section needs to be opened.”

Lot purchases for non-residents will remain substantially higher at $730 per grave, or $550 for cremation only. Surcharges for non-residents will be $550 within a corner lot and $370 for a front lot.

The city four years ago ended its practice of offering a discount for multiple grave purchases. It was explained that multiple purchases provided no savings for the city and, in fact, made the need for expansion more likely because some grave spaces went unused.

The council did, however, at that time reduce the single grave purchase price for residents to $450, down from $530. The current price of $470 remains below the former fee.

In addition to grave costs, there are burial fees. The Iron Mountain cemetery’s weekday burial charges are $1,290 for residents, discounted to $430 for single cremation burials. For non-residents, weekday burials are $1,850, or $630 for a single cremation.

There are varying fees for special circumstances, including reduced costs for infant burials and extra charges for weekend and winter burials.

The cemetery also offers green burials, with a single grave purchase price for residents of $650 and a weekday burial charge of $1,400.

In other action, the council:

— Approved the purchase of a 2023 Ford F-350 four-wheel-drive flat-bed pickup truck from Eric von Schledorn Ford of Random Lake, Wis., for no more than $42,699. The vehicle, which has 38,063 miles, is intended for use in the cemetery. In selecting a used vehicle that met the city’s specifications, a comparison was conducted within a 200-mile radius of Iron Mountain.

— Scheduled a special meeting for 6 p.m. today at City Hall to reach a decision on a tentative contract for a water service line replacement project funded through Michigan’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund program. Of the $5 million project total, 51% is a 2% loan and 49% is a grant given as principal forgiveness. More than 400 service lines containing lead will be replaced.

The apparent low bidder is Five Star Energy Services of Waukesha, Wis. at $4,081,286.50. Bids were also opened Monday from Bacco Construction of Iron Mountain, $4,465,965.80; Oberstar Inc. of Marquette, $5,797.869; and Florida-based Murphy Pipeline Contractors, $6,472,828.22. Coleman Engineering Co. of Iron Mountain is the project engineer.

— Approved a change order totaling $5,328.77 for Ultra Construction Services LLC of Marquette, the contractor on a water service line replacement project begun in 2024. The extra charge is for additional plumbing work needed in the home when a new service line cannot follow an existing path, Stanchina explained. This is to avoid damaging structures such as decks, landscaping and driveways. To date, Ultra has been paid slightly less than half of its $3.87 million contract, also funded through the DWSRF program.

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