ANN ARBOR, MI - Artistic designs depicting trees, acorns, kayaking on the Huron River and the University of Michigan's Burton Memorial Tower will adorn Ann Arbor's future manhole covers.

The Ann Arbor Art Center, which managed a manhole cover artwork-selection process for the city, has announced the three winners of the design contest following recent public voting on six finalists.

Each of the three winning designs will be produced for about two years on new cast-iron manhole covers to be installed throughout the city.

The designs will be stamped during the fabricating process onto replacement manhole covers the city regularly orders.

Each of the three winners of the design contest will receive a $1,000 stipend from the city.

The winners are "Horizon" by Laurie Borggreve of Edina, Minnesota; "Kayak" by Taylor Mentzer of Ann Arbor; and "Tower and Tree" by Shaun Whitehouse of Ann Arbor.

The City Council voted 10-1 in December 2016 to approve a $27,000 contract with the Art Center using money from the city's stormwater fund to manage the design-selection process.

The council also authorized the city administrator to approve up to $27,000 in amendments to the contract.

City officials said the city generally purchases 75 to 150 manhole covers per year and there is no extra cost per cover for using custom designs, though there might be a "setup charge" depending on how long the city commits to a design. For example, if the city stays with a design for two years or more, there might not be a setup cost.

City officials note other places such as Greenfield Village and Pittsfield Township have custom-designed manhole covers.

They say it's a means of giving unique place identity with minimal or no additional cost.

According to the Art Center, the call for designs was open to people of all ages throughout the world and more than 240 submissions were juried by an advisory committee comprised of local professional artists, arts educators, and business and community leaders.

The jurying process led to six finalists, including four from Ann Arbor, which were presented to the public for online voting, and nearly 3,000 votes were cast. All submitted designs were assessed using a wide range of criteria, including aesthetics, feasibility of producing the design in cast iron, and fidelity to the community values and attributes of Ann Arbor, according to the Art Center.

"What a great project this has been," Marie Klopf, Art Center president and CEO, said in a statement. "The public vote had an overwhelming response and the three winning designs are going to look fantastic. Ann Arbor may not be the only American city to have original art on manhole covers, but ours will be the most unique!"