City of Ironwood offered $150,000 Christmas gift

IRONWOOD — The Ironwood City Commission will consider a $150,000 Christmas gift at Monday’s meeting.

Mark and Denise Stephens, of Bessemer, would like to donate common stock to the city with an approximate value of $150,000 to be used for an electric ice and edging machine for the Patrick O’Donnell Civic Center rink. The city owns the center, which is on the campus of Gogebic Comminuty College.

The donation must be acted on by Dec. 31.

Commissioners will consider stipulations set with the offer, including that the machine be a Zamboni and that it contain advertising for Ironwood Plastics, the company the Stephens family has been associated with for decades.

Any money left over, about $15,000, could be used for other capital improvements at the center, according to a letter written by Mark and Denise Stephens to city finance director Paul Linn.

Other stipulations include that the donation qualify for a federal income tax deduction and the city must be able to receive common stock certificates and bear the cost of cashing them in.

If the ice machine is sold within 15 years, proceeds would be transferred to the Polar Bear Hockey Club.

“The civic center and Polar Bear Hockey Club have given us tremendous joy and happiness over the years. We have met many great people within this organization. Our goal has always been to see kids enjoy ice, learn sportsmanship and grow into fine adults. We are hopeful this equipment can help,” Mark and Denise Stephens wrote in offering the donation to the city.

The commission meets at 5:30 p.m. in chambers on the second floor of the Memorial Building.