IM City Park deer transfer takes another step ahead
Plans are going forward for the transfer of the deer herd at Iron Mountain City Park to DeYoung Family Zoo near Wallace. The deer had blood drawn for their first tuberculosis tests Monday and antlers were removed as well. The transfer of the 21 deer will take place no sooner than February, when a second round of TB tests is required. (Jim Anderson/Daily News photo)
Iron Mountain is making preparations for new playground structures at City Park. The installation is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 14. (Jim Anderson/Daily News photo)
Plans are going forward for the transfer of the deer herd at Iron Mountain City Park to DeYoung Family Zoo near Wallace. The deer had blood drawn for their first tuberculosis tests Monday and antlers were removed as well. The transfer of the 21 deer will take place no sooner than February, when a second round of TB tests is required. (Jim Anderson/Daily News photo)
Iron Mountain is making preparations for new playground structures at City Park. The installation is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 14. (Jim Anderson/Daily News photo)
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IRON MOUNTAIN -- The planned transfer of the City Park deer herd to DeYoung Family Zoo in Menominee County is moving forward after completion Monday of a first round of tuberculosis tests.
A second set of TB tests will be needed four months from now. If there are no problems, the transfer of the 21 deer can be scheduled, City Manager Jordan Stanchina said.
"We have it in process and in motion," he told the city council Monday.
Plans for the herd's removal took shape earlier this year after the city faced months of pressure from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to correct pen deficiencies.
At a Feb. 2 meeting, facing a deadline for renewing the pen's license, the council voted 5-2 to eliminate the facility. Absent an alternative, the council's decision set the stage for the entire herd to be culled and processed into venison for food banks.
While confirming DeYoung Family Zoo was willing to accept the herd, the city consulted the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and updated the pen's classification to allow a transfer. Then, in May, USDA agreed to renew a permit for the 6-acre deer enclosure with the understanding the city planned to relocate the animals.
The required TB testing under the supervision of Ingalls veterinarian Dr. Barry Wehner was delayed until fall to allow removal of antlers at the same time. Tranquilization of the deer was required for this activity, and City Park was closed Monday to accommodate it.
The deer pen has been an attraction since at least the 1940s, but critics have told the council it's turned into a cruelty perpetuated by decades of inbreeding. The Friends of City Park, meanwhile, has encouraged the council to find a way to keep a pen operating.
Under a USDA directive, preserving the pen would require facility improvements and the ongoing supervision of a local veterinarian.
DeYoung Family Zoo near Wallace is an 80-acre facility that has been open to the public since 1990. It generally welcomes visitors from May until early fall and includes a number of natural habitats.
In other action Monday, the council:
-- Learned that installation of new playground equipment at City Park will take place on or around Oct. 14. The new Penchura structures are the Alpha Tower, a 20-foot-tall climbing deck with two slides, and Volo, offering numerous activities and climbs. The cost breakdown from Landscape Structures of Delano, Minn., is $168,950 for the equipment, including $9,910 for shipping, plus $68,985 for installation. The city is using a portion of its American Rescue Plan Act funds for the purchase. City crews this week prepared the playground area for the installation, requiring a temporary closure.
-- Adopted an ordinance establishing fees for repeated false fire alarm responses. The ordinance provides three no-fee false-alarm responses during a rolling 12-month period, then applies escalating fees. The fee for a fourth response is $100; the fifth, $200; and the sixth and each subsequent false alarm is $400. The ordinance was proposed because there are some businesses that have multiple false alarms but fail to correct the issue. There were no comments during a public hearing.
-- Heard Stanchina report 14 deer have been harvested through the city's managed archery hunt, which opened Thursday and will run through Jan. 1 on designated parcels. Last year's harvest was a record 112 deer taken from within city limits. Hunters are permitted to harvest a buck using their own tag after three antlerless deer are taken on city permits. Six bucks were among last year's harvest. "We have four or five (hunters) that really help us out," Stanchina said, noting the size of the herd remains troublesome.
-- Opened bids from three dealers for a new 4×4 plow truck, calling for a diesel Cummins 380 horsepower engine. Bids from U.P. Truck Center of Quinnesec, JX Truck Center of Marquette and Truck Country of Kaukauna, Wis., will be reviewed by staff for a recommendation. The bid amounts are roughly within the range of the $300,000 budgeted, or somewhat higher.
-- Awarded bids to Bill Neuens Landscaping of Iron Mountain to deliver to the public works department 2,000 tons of winter sand at a cost of $21,480 and 1,500 tons of road gravel at a cost of $17,775. There were no other bidders and the purchase is contingent on specifications.
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Jim Anderson can be reached at 906-774-2772, ext. 85226, or janderson@ironmountaindailynews.com.